2nd law of thermodynamics inside an event horizon? Since time and space switch roles inside a black hole, does entropy inside a black hole still need to increase?
If not, maybe something very strange could pop into existence, only to be crushed moments later? Or perhaps even be able to permanently protect itself? 
 A: Your phrase "since time and space switch roles" is not quite right. Nothing special happens to spacetime itself at a horizon, but the way we assign coordinates to events can change at the horizon, if we choose a system of coordinates with that property. The Schwarzschild coordinates are the most well-known example. 
It is quite correct that the Schwarschild coordinate commonly called $r$ is not spacelike at events beyond the horizon, but it is the role of the coordinate that has changed, rather than the nature of spacetime. 
If a black hole is large enough then the horizon can be quite gentle. The strong principle of equivalence is respected by general relativity, and according to this principle all physical processes obey the same set of laws, in any small region of spacetime, no matter where that region is---even after a black hole horizon. This is true as long as the region under consideration (e.g. one large enough to contain a thermodynamic system undergoing relaxation) is small compared to the local radii of curvature of spacetime. So on this basis we expect the 2nd law and all other laws of thermodynamics to apply to the processes going on beyond a horizon, as the matter there makes its way into the future; a future that finishes at the moment $r=0$ where GR becomes singular and we don't know what happens.
A: Entropy is a subjective notion that describes how many distinct microstates are regarded as equivalent by a given observer. As such, since an observer at infinity sees there to be an event horizon when measured with his/her proper distance and proper time coordinates, this observer will see a loss of information at the event horizon.
An infalling observer would see no horizon and no entropy. Horizon and entropy are not local concepts. They are properties of an observer's world line.
