An easy way to avoid the pilot hole with hole saws is to first drill out the hole in a thick piece of plywood. DS tape this to your wheel wood, remove the pilot bit and use the taped on hole as the guide.
You are spot on with your solution for making the holes clean (offset chip clearing hole). Burning almost a guarantee with out one!
The carbide toothed saws with the low tooth count work really well, but the offset hole is good insurance.