pressing Delete History for the last time before Rigging
Why? I mean there's plenty of reasons to keep that history around. Dont blindly delete history just because do it because you dont have any use for that part.
For example if you want spikes to grow out of the back of something then don't delete the history for the extrudes of the spikes. You get the growth for free. The tools you use to bulk up your model work equally well as rigging tools.
And no dont freeze either.
I'm more concerned with what you after the character is created.
depends on what your character is the workflow for a snake is quite different form the workflow of a human.
What you do next is type on paper what you need your character to do during the course of animation.
Is the character a toon? Is it facial or primarily mimic animation? Does it need stretchy/bendy limbs? Does it need to flow trough a small hole. Does it need many outfits? Do you need cloth simulation? Paricle anim? Hair? Muscles? How many bones is exact.
Why does it need theese things, abstract to bare minimum needed. All extra things cost time. How long do you plan to use this character? a month, 3 days, 20 years? Invest more time to longer life characters. Do you really need bones or are they just nice? Could you sue blendshapes that are driven by bone angle?
Any accessories? Ropes, medalions, chains?
Does a standard rig suffice? if so which one? do you have auto lipsynch? If so build those blends it needs. Are you using motion capture?
How well do you know the inner workings of maya? Have you read the manual on rigging?