This package comes with two incredibly useful animation utilities.
First, it will strip all namespaces from animations and skeleton hierarchies. It then creates a new prefab that can be used in your scene with all animations being writable. Simply use this _imported version and you can add as many animation events as you need. All manual steps removed.
The second utility included in this package is a simple window that allows you to copy all animation events from one animationClip to another.
This package is incredibly simple to use, simply install and go!
Re - exporting animations is no problem with the Animation Importer, all existing animation events will persist and prefab connections will remain intact!