protocol - Help with device identification in a chain

So I'm working on a new project where I'm trying to identify devices on a closed protocol "network" of sorts. I'm trying to determine how many devices are out there and unique id's of each device. I'll probably have an eprom or something similar to store the unique identifier. The question I would have for the forum would be: is a daisy chain the best way to identify the devices? (as shown below)

I was thinking I could try to also route individual control lines to the devices but I won't necessarily know how many total devices are out there. I will be able to connect the final device back to a return line (physically using a jumper and identified here by the blue dot).

So again, my question is: is there a better way to do this?

Thanks!