[pitherpather]

Also, is there any workflow option in current Kicad for importing a component-naming netlist (of the kind so many existing schematic packages can output), without having a live Kicad schematic?

One lesson of this thread could be: There is enough interest in text-based "schematics" -- aka netlist import -- for Kicad layout to add support for the approach, if it does not currently exist.