What is the preferred way to slow down an airliner on a long runway?
There are several ways to slow down an airliner:


aerodynamic drag
friction in the wheel bearings
reverse thrust
wheel brakes


and a few even used a brake chute, but that went out of fashion a long time ago. If the runway is inclined, landing uphill also will slow down the aircraft.

Friction and drag you get for free, so I would rely on those first. Since they are highest when the speed is high, use them first until the aircraft is so far down the runway that it would overshoot without additional application of wheel brakes. Use spoilers and leave the flaps down to maximise the deceleration. Only at the end add wheel brakes so you have slowed down to taxi speed when the exit of the runway is reached.

So the best answer is none of the above but:


Coast along with flaps and spoilers out until you need to brake more to avoid an overshoot. Then apply wheel brakes.


The exact way how brakes should be applied depends on their type.