Aha.

Updated example code that fixes the Kenwood bug:
https://create.arduino.cc/editor/tfabris/4c5eea9a-1462-45d7-908d-81a5bb6b0d90/preview

Here's what was going on with the Kenwood bug (from my code comments in the update above):

// Final fix for the "Kenwood Bug". Description of the Kenwood Bug:
// The AVRCP NFY CHANGED commands work on factory car stereo in
// Honda Accord 2017 model no matter what the transaction label is.
// This led me to believe that the transaction label was only important
// when performing an immediate response to a state query (i.e., when
// sending an "AVRCP NFY INTERIM" response), and that if I was the one
// who was indicating the state change (i.e., when I was sending an
// "AVRCP NFY CHANGED" statement to tell the host that something had
// changed), that the transaction label was arbitrary and that I was
// the person choosing the transaction label at that time. This was
// fine for the Honda stereo: When those commands are issued to the
// bluetooth chip, then the car stereo head unit immediately reacts
// by re-querying for more new track metadata from the bluetooth chip.
//
// However, when using those commands on a Kenwood bluetooth-equipped
// car stereo, then nothing happens when the messages are sent up
// with arbitrary transaction labels. The Kenwood stops sending new
// queries for track information and just "sits there" blindly
// playing the audio stream without getting any new track data.
//
// It turns out that the transaction labels aren't arbitrary if
// you received a "REGISTER_NOTIFICATION" message for the
// "PLAYBACK_STATUS_CHANGED" or the "TRACK_CHANGED" messages.
// Yes, you need to immediately respond with an "INTERIM"
// notification, but then if you send a "CHANGED" notification
// yourself later, then the transaction label still has to match.
// The Kenwood stopped querying for new track data because the
// transaction labels didn't match when I sent it "CHANGED"
// notifications. The fix is to match the transaction labels
// by storing them in a global variable.

As far as the noise goes, I think I'm going to attempt to make a first pass at a PCB and see if all I really need to eliminate the noise is to simply get things more solid with better ground traces and everything, instead of jerry rigged on a breadboard.
_________________________
Tony Fabris