Thanks for reaching out, @pmadden! This is a very pertinent question. 
In the short term, it sounds like you're on the right track. Our official recommendation for granular RBAC within a multipage app is to utilize current_user.groups or custom attributes.
This is definitely a pain point that we're aware of, though, and we're actively working on an integrated solution. I expect there will be a beta rollout before the end of Q2!