Start with the Vera component, then add a Z-Wave controller to your computer. Then you can exclude (remove) the devices from the Vera and include (add) them directly to Home Assistant at the pace you’re happy with.
@Daniel_Gronlund: yeah, I know that there is a Vera component - that ideal to start with in the beginning, but ideally I want to get rid of the Vera Hardware completely - the more hardware the more that can fail.