Don't Get Passed

How do I defend this?
How do I escape this?
The cookie cutter answer of the BJJ black belt is "don't get there". That really doesn't seem that helpful, but it is true, and the underlying message is key. The problem you are having is not the problem, the problem is what ended you up in that situation to begin with. So when we look at something like how to escape pins, the first step is having a guard that's difficult to pass. What does that look like? 
Grips- At all points in playing guard at least one of your hands should be on your partner

Points of Contact- to go with the grips, you should in contact with your opponent with 3 of your 4 limbs (ideally all 4 are doing something)

Positioning- not only having points of contact but having optimal points of contact, knowing what positions benefit you and where you can be beat, the risks and rewards of the guard systems you choose

Activity- if you are attacking they have to worry about that rather than strictly focusing on passing your guard

Recovery- knowing when your grips and attacks have been beat and being able to bail and reset is just as critical to avoiding pins as any technique in your arsenal

Think about how the idea of prevention applies to your game, what would you add to this list of impassible guard concepts? What about other aspects of your game?