  We present an unbiased census of deeply embedded protostars in Perseus,
Serpens, and Ophiuchus, assembled by combining large-scale 1.1 mm Bolocam
continuum and Spitzer Legacy surveys. We identify protostellar candidates based
on their mid-infrared properties, correlate their positions with 1.1 mm core
positions, and construct well-sampled SEDs using our extensive wavelength
coverage (lam=1.25-1100 micron). Source classification based on the bolometric
temperature yields a total of 39 Class 0 and 89 Class I sources in the three
cloud sample. We compare to protostellar evolutionary models using the
bolometric temperature-luminosity diagram, finding a population of low
luminosity Class I sources that are inconsistent with constant or monotonically
decreasing mass accretion rates. This result argues strongly for episodic
accretion during the Class I phase, with more than 50% of sources in a
``sub-Shu'' (dM/dt < 1e-6 Msun/yr) accretion state. Average spectra are
compared to protostellar radiative transfer models, which match the observed
spectra fairly well in Stage 0, but predict too much near-IR and too little
mid-IR flux in Stage I. Finally, the relative number of Class 0 and Class I
sources are used to estimate the lifetime of the Class 0 phase; the three cloud
average yields a Class 0 lifetime of 1.7e5 yr, ruling out an extremely rapid
early accretion phase. Correcting photometry for extinction results in a
somewhat shorter lifetime (1.1e5 yr). In Ophiuchus, however, we find very few
Class 0 sources (N(Class0)/N(ClassI)=0.1-0.2), similar to previous studies of
that cloud. The observations suggest a consistent picture of nearly constant
average accretion rate through the entire embedded phase, with accretion
becoming episodic by at least the Class I stage, and possibly earlier.
