Intal and albuterol haven’t done too much for me, the ventolin is good stuff but I tend to think of that as more of a rescue inhaler and not a preventative. My asthma is primarily allergen-induced, so I keep after the Zyrtec and Allegra and that manages most of the symptoms. The Discus (dry, powdery thing, not an aerosol) has also worked really well for me as a during-exercise inhaler, but without the system shock of ventolin.
I use a flow meter on a weekly basis (more when there’s a lot of pollen) because I’ve found that a small dip in the flow meter is prophetic of a much nastier symptom waiting to happen, so I try to pre-treat when I see that dip even a little, because it’s way more manageable at that point.