Yes! I have become a convert to the less-water method. Mostly. Now the soaking method you mention intrigues me.
I have an approach that works really well because I cook pasta for two. I use my All-Clad sauté pan to boil pasta in water, giving the pasta a quick turn or two with kitchen tongs during cooking to prevent sticking. I reserve a couple of ladlefuls of the cooking water before draining the cooked pasta in a colander.
Then I use the same sauté pan to prep or assemble my sauce like a quick marinara or maybe something like preroasted, diced winter squash and sautéed red onion. When the pasta goes back in the pan, it gets a ladleful or so of starchy cooking water to combine the pasta with sauce. A dollop of oil, butter, or other finishing dairy go as I take the pan off heat. Pasta and sauce come together in minutes and you have a one-pot meal. This is not an exact technique—trial and error to learn—but it’s been a game-changer for me.
I do still boil a big pot of water when I want to cook vegetables in the same liquid first, or have a fresh stuffed pasta such as ravioli. Delicate filled pasta benefits from the larger volume of water. And If I had a larger quantity of any kind of pasta to cook, I would also break out the big pot of water. But then again, the soaking method intrigues.
And now I want to eat.
