Thanks Brookman. That article was a great read. Everyone should take a look before it gets lost in our vast archive of Fox advice/questions.
Trahh, you have to step away from "ways of approaching". Its not limited to options A, B, C or X, Y, Z. Its open-ended and highly dependent on variables ranging from damage and character, to stage and positioning.
Think of a melee stage as an free expanse for you to do whatever you please. Your approach is only limited by your technical skill and ability to move fluently. (Okay, your opponent plays a big role here too..but you get what I mean)
Your defense is only limited by your perception of the stage and how many ways you wish to use it. (Again, this changes because your opponent plays a key role in how your strategies unfold.)
What I'm trying to say is, for the most part you control what happens in your approach. You control what happens in your defense. When you're mid-range or full screen, there isn't much your opponent can do to stop you from reverse shine wavelanding onto a platform and bairing him from behind. How can he possibly know you would go for that? There are so many ways to approach that trying to list them would be futile.
I understand that many players need a model to base their game around. Usually their fundamentals encompass a selection of common methods of approach and defense. Methods that often fail against the better players of today. IMO, if you want to get better at approaching, think of ways of getting in that don't involve running straight at them. Whether that means baiting a response or using the stage creatively - it's all conducive to a more thorough understanding of your character, your limits, and the stages you play on.
Against Samus low nairs and spaced bairs off or through platforms are good though.
edit: Don't be fooled, running straight in with nair/dair has its uses. But for improvement with your offensive insight, thinking in this manner is a good place to start.