While I've definitely done #3, my go-to is usually creating a character for a sort of half-hearted roleplay of an OC. They usually don't look like me, but they're always a beautiful woman.

I really enjoy doing it as a creative outlet. I've made quite a few "characters" that I don't even have save files for yet. When I start a game that has a complex character creator, I usually spend like 30 minutes in it.