I’m the same as most others - move it from freezer to fridge the night before if organised enough, or move from freezer to plate on the counter in the morning if not. I’m always wary of defrosting in the microwave as it does tend to start cooking it, but I guess that’s not really a problem if you then cook it through immediately anyway.
I figure that with food hygiene standards nowadays and all meat being shrink wrapped, the likelihood of much bacteria developing in a few hours of defrosting at room temperature is not that great.
You left out an “all of the above” choice. It’s like I have a strict one place only to defrost food. With once exception. I never use a bowl of hot water. Sometimes I’ll put it in a sink full of cool water. Sometimes on the counter top. Sometimes in the refrigerator over night.
I take it out of the freezer in the morning, put it on the countertop on a plate, and put a couple of oven mitts on top of it. The mitts keep it from defrosting too quickly; the meat is usually still cold when I come home that night.
I will use the microwave on occasion, but only at low power. It still develops warm spots, but usually not enough to screw up the actual cooking.
If I use water, I usually put it in a bowl in the sink and run a trickle of cold water over it. That keeps me from having to manually change the water repeatedly.
In the fridge a day or two in advance is the preferred method.
If it’s sliced meat (e.g. pastrami or turkey) for a sandwich, I defrost it in the microwave (30% power for about 8 minutes for 1/2 pound).
Other than that (e.g. a steak, or ground beef for a burger or casserole), I put it in the refrigerator, usually in a plastic bag which is then placed in a bowl of water, and let it sit for 24 hours.
It’s usually on the counter over night. Or during the day.
If I’m on the ball (rarely lately), it’s in the refrigerator.
If I’ve completely forgotten to take something out, then it would be in a bowl of water with water running over it.
This is almost always meat. We buy a whole lamb, half a pig and half a cow about once a year, so our freezer is generally full of meat that needs defrosting before cooking.
I hate planning meals ahead, so I always use a bowl of warm water (often changed out once or twice as it gets cold). Rarely I will resort to the microwave.
I never plan ahead enough to use the countertop alone, or the refridgerator.