I pre-cut cut my patches for convenience. I keep my lube in a tin container along with patches. (when I don't use spit.) I also don't pre-lube them, so I can choose between lube or spit. Though sometimes when hunting I may keep one or two pre-lubed patches in the container. If your lube creates a "greasy mess", you need to consider a different lube, or learn to be more tidy.
I'm not a fan of the dry patch methods like Ballistol and water, not because they don't work but because it takes muzzleloading into the modern era. If you start changing too many things about your muzzleloader to the modern era, pretty soon you don't have a traditional muzzleloader any more, or that experience.
