I found this handy script here (Settings Auto Backup (Normal and USB)), and I have set it to do a backup weekly and "OnListerUIChange". I have set it up to store the backup file to the cloud.
Do you think that even having this script installed at all can result in performance issues?
I used to do weekly drive images to an external backup drive, but with the rise of hosted storage, I've moved away from that. Also drive images are great for replacing a crashed HD, but not for other types of hardware failures. If you end up replacing / upgrading a computer, that image won't help you. Since it doesn't seem that there's any way around having to install all of your software on your new machine, it seems the next bet is...
The best option for me would be if there were a way I could schedule all of my programs to export all of their customizations to a cloud archive on a regular basis. That would be a reasonable approach. Or even better, if all of my software automatically stored my profile on their servers so when I reinstalled I had the option of reloading my configuration. As software is moving to the cloud and subscription-based, this may work itself out, too.
Nonetheless, thanks for the feedback, Leo! If you happen to find my configuration file in your inbox, you let me know, OK? 