I totally feeeeeeeel you!!! I have a couple tangled yarns too that I have not touched for yearssssssss! Hahah. But I made a googlyeye for one last year or 2 years ago.
I choose 1. I like that you already have a ball wind up as you detangle. I find it easier to detangle when you know where the end or beginning is, where you can maneuver it in and out and up and down to move through the tangles and the loops and all. Do a little everyday, like a jigsaw puzzle, 1 tangle at a time maybe and you should be done in no time!
If it is too rough, then do 2. You can start working on your lace scarf to get back into the zen mode whenever you feel like scratching your yarn off. As you work the scarf, you may be motivated to continue to detangle :) (oh gosh, I should be telling myself that! :D)
Or do it as a family activity / game - STEM - inculcate patience in kids :D . Every person is given 3 minutes to detangle. Once 3 minutes is up, another person tries. The one who last the most number of 3 minutes - wins :D This is sort of engineering hehe.