I've used both caged and uncaged bearings in both bottom bracket and headset without any problems using the fill till full minus one method. My previous experience came from repairing CNC machines that the tolerances had to repeat to 0.0002 mm hen moving and returning to original position. Some of the older machines used single bearings and the Japanese standard was to fill till full minus one, tighten until torqued movement reached 25% load bearing weight, then loosen and re-torque to 8-10% drag. In our application I have used the method of tightening until no movement and loosen to no drag and set the jam nut/ cap/ ect. This has proven quite sucessful using a heavy grease to keep the bearings in position while putting the bearings in place. Hope this helps in some small way.
Neal Pipes
Denton TX USA