Your are right.  I should just have the power company pull the meter on the power pole.  It is commonly done here by electricians that come out and do any major work on electrical lines for the farm or house.  They just pull the meter while working.    

When I built the house 21 years ago I tried and tried to get the electricians to put in a disconnect switch on my side of the meter for just the reason we are discussing here.  Noooooo, they said, you don't want to send all that money for a disconnect.  Life.

No, problem keeping the generator outside the garage.  If inside we open the screen on the north walk in door and crack the garage door about 6 inches.  In Nebraska there is always a wind blowing, believe me.