I have a similar question and have been experimenting with domains. However, I would like to maintain the values in a table, so that I may easily add new values to the drop-down list. One problem with domains is that only the user who creates a domain may edit it. I am creating a geodatabase for other people to edit, so they would not be able to adjust the domain values. Plus, I'm trying to keep the process simple for the users, and domains are tricky to work with.
Any ideas?