Truth is I hate prototyping so I put my faith in data sheets and go straight to a PCB.
That said I don't actually make a lot these days but my current project is a dual processor board, I see no reason the design shouldn't be 99% correct as most hardware is quite simple these days. 99% is close enough and at $65 for 10 PCBs it's cheaper than the SMD breakout boards I'd have to buy as many of the components aren't available in PTH.
I'm not that experienced with soldering SMDs but with a hot-air station I haven't found it that hard so far.
Rob