Thank you for the detailed answer. I think the best solution will be to have another track as you mentioned and drag plugins for A/B-ing.
This is obviously not an issue when it comes to live channels but becomes more of a hassle when it comes to mastering and trying out different chains with EQs, saturators and various compressors all doing slightly different tasks. It is not hard to accidentally drag & drop when you are used to this kind of workflow in literally any other DAW
It means I will need to have a slightly different workflow now.
I appreciate the tip about the empty slots, that makes so much sense!! Thanks a ton!