I always do test and copy. I also always create both a log and cue files. It really does not matter if you compress while you rip or later. I usually just rip to Flac. I think you need to add the Flac add on to EAC to do this but I might be wrong. It has been a while since I set mine up.
Cuetools can also add the metadata and convert the files to Flac.