ZBrushCentral

Can retopo be done in this manner?

i’ve not had too awful much experience with retopology (did it a couple of times so far), but i get mixed results.
going the whole route of starting with my mesh, then adding the zsphere, retopo, then skin and append, to finish with project all.
the few times i’ve tried this, i get mixed results with certain areas getting artifacts after the project all. i’ve tried adjusting the skin’s size by way of the deformation palette, but there’s always a few areas that just don’t project well, like nostrils and parts of the ears.

is there any other way to retopo in zbrush that does not involve having to make a skin then project all?

alot of times, i wish i could just go into topo editing, make a few tweaks then turn it off and get back to sculpting.

can something this be a reality or am i just asking for too much and it’s one of those “nature of the beast” sort of situations?

as always- thanks for any input!