Quoted from Haymaker:I try to keep things factory as possible.
If this is your desire, then I would have neither Special nor point thresholds award EBs. Stick with the EBs that the game designer intended -- and if those feel too far out of reach, many modern pins allow you to adjust the difficulty of qualifying/earning EBs from skillful play.
If you still want to get something meaningful to the game in a free play home environment (and not just the audible knock), then set Special to award points.