Peter, I put a question mark there as I don't dispute that you do this, but question you how accurate it can be. You may think differently, but I think that the facets on the stylus are minuscule, and the brush is magnitudes larger. As such, I don't see how you are not actually brushing the whole stylus, regardless of whether you do it from the side, front etc., To that, I would be VERY concerned that when you brush at the back, that you take the risk of damaging the cantilever to stylus connection. This is why the manufacturer's recommend brushing with a brush from the back to the front. While you are brushing the back, any mistake in direction and I think that could be problematic. Nonetheless, since you have used this regimen for years, you are obviously happy with it and it works for you. I don't think it is anything I would want to do.
You also bring up a great point about removing the crud and how often. I remove the crud every single side of the LP, and make sure that at the end of the listening session I do the same thing. I don't want crud on the stylus too long. Now the other day, I had a very stubborn fibre that wasn't getting removed from the cantilever. Partly due I suspect to the fact that it was a little damp from the SPT treatment. So, I left that overnight to dry and was able to successfully remove it the next day with the Onzow.
Did someone say we are crazy with all this stuff!!! Makes one wonder if just using your Ipad to dial in tunes from the server and never having to get out of your chair is such a bad thing, LOL.