I liked that SOP as you had a visual confirmation (switch position) of whether you had received take off/landing clearance.

We use the same system. Below 10,000′ we have the main landing lights on but leave the nose landing/taxi lights off. Doesn’t really matter as they are automatically extinguished when the gear is retracted. On approach we/I turn on the nose landing light when we are cleared for the approach. The taxi light is turned on when we are cleared to land. Some captains chose to use the taxi light for approach clearance and landing for landing clearance but it’s a personal preference. It is an excellent memory aid.