Yeah I would equalise before any major charging...but I would stick a couple of hundred mAh in there so that you wake the cells and then equalise. This was you'll at least have something to equalise with. Don't put loads in though...just a bit.
I suppose this philosophy is the same kind of idea as eating before going on a major sesh on the piss...so you have something to be sick on.
Not really though...poor analogy really. I've had a few...