Do it the Meiwan way. For the ground you could splice the ground wire into two, or daisy chain the ground from one recepticle to the other (using a short bare wire) so on the ground screw, you would have two wires feeding into it
You could also do your 'other option' whever you are comfortable with. No worries about voltage drops, I do not think it would be an issue
You could also do your 'other option' whever you are comfortable with. No worries about voltage drops, I do not think it would be an issue