Hi Jordan,
OK, apparently, you have a better understanding of the differences between LRC and Bridge than most who try to use both on the same images. However, I would emphasize that LRC is ACR with a database, NOT Bridge with a database. This is a big distinction.
Let me give you a "use" case where I have to break the LRC overall UI to make things work for me for ONE thing I have to work around. It might give you some ideas to work around the issues that you mentioned.
Several years ago, I wanted to digitize just under 10,000 slides I had taken with my film camera over the years. I use an Epson V800 scanner, and I can scan 12 slides at a time. However, for adjustments and all, it can take about 5 minutes per slide to get a good-quality image. (Later updates to SilverFast Scanning software can reduce this to about 3 minutes per slide, but that was not available to me back then.) After reviewing a variety of options, I decided to photograph my slides. [You can read my process here if you're interested:
https://community.adobe.com/t5/adobe-community-professionals/digitizing-your-slides-by-photography/td-p/4785336]
Part of my reasoning is there was a pretty good chance that not every slide I had taken was a real "keeper." (Shocking, yes!)
I tethered my Canon 7Dm2 to Lightroom and shot away. The process was mostly straightforward, and I could finally look at my images without having to set up the slide projector. (Yeah!) But also, I could then look at the images and decide that this one, or that one, would benefit from the quality that one gets with a proper scan. So, here's how I work this with LRC.
I scan the images into TIF format. I locate the original image in LRC and have it show me the file in the Finder. I copy its name (let's say "Germany_1234.TIF" and rename the new file "Germany_1234b.tif."). I now manually place this new file into the same folder as the original photographed image. Now, back in LRC, in Library mode, I right-click on the folder that has the new image and select "Synchronize folder." This will now import that one image into the catalog. Now I have to go back to that folder (still in Library mode), go find the new file that should be following the original photographed file, and compare the two. 99.9% times out of a hundred, the scanned image was worth the effort, and I delete the photographed file.
At that point, I can then make any final adjustments to the file using LRC's Develop abilities.
That's a lot of work to simply add an image to an application, and I do wish it was easier, but the way that LRC was designed and engineered, that's the package that you get. It was NOT designed to easily slip in an image here or there; it was designed to import a day's shoot. It was built for photographers doing lots of work.
As far as LoupDeck, I've no experience with it one way or the other so I cannot comment on it at all. I am aware that a number of folks love it.
Hopefully that might give you some ideas to working in and out of LRC. Bridge is obvously straightforward, you got that.
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention before, LRC and Bridge do not have the same code for Labels. Even ratings are not well communicated back and forth. Again, since the two are to be used for different purposes, there was no reason to match communication between the two. And, if you customize Bridge's Labels, you'll see only white in another copy of Bridge becuase this was customzied on your copy, not the other copy.
Good luck!
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