Banana plants outside - cold question

The last time we had a hard freeze in baton rouge for a couple days, my banana plants in the ground (5’-8’ varying from plant to plant) all collapsed and a couple weeks later I cut them about 3” above the ground with a machete. They came back and grew to the same height this year, which is good. My question is, for best growth in the spring, should I leave them as is and have them grow back naturally, should I hack them before the freeze, or should I do just like last time and hack after the freeze? I’d like to keep them growing each year.
TIA