depends what airline you are flying in on....
usair .....is terminal B
south west is terminal A
lay out is different in each garage.....National is on 2nd floor in Terminal A ...whereas it is on the ground floor in Terminal B ( if you use the cross walk for this EA it is just to the left as you approach the garage ( to me EA in terminal B is better for selection, but it does not hurt to check out both sides )
sometimes too .....the EA is distant from baggage pickup....depending on the airline you are on.....once again southwest's carousels are at the farthest end of Terminal A probably the farthest point from EA too
as to your second thought about splitting up and one getting luggage and the other the car......you would have to go out of the garage and around the airport again to get onto the right level for baggage claim....which i think is arriving flights level ( we never do that, although we do split up .....baggage claim and check out cars ....then go to the side or terminal that has the best choice