I'll repeat some of what you just read. Yes, stay out of the hive during the winter, make sure they are well fed. Some of my hives are one super, others are 3,4, 5 supers in the winter. Here's the two things that will kill your hive in the south; mites and starvation. Those are pretty much the biggest problems. I've seen an ice trail coming down the side of one of my hives. No problem. I don't vent and I don't tilt and I may put a jar of feed on the jar hole in the inner cover if the winter is mild enough.