Please don't read anything into this tone, it's simply much more practical to be matter-of-fact.
You do not understand what DIR is, through no fault of your own. It's obvious in your post, which is well put together btw, and would be helpful to a new diver. You (and many many others) make a lot of assumptions about what constitutes DIR, based on some superficial understanding of incomplete information. The point is, without actually understanding the DIR philosophy and its approach to diving, you're not doing yourself any favors by trying to adhere to a system that you don't understand. You can't look at is as specific parts, it really is a system and a philosophy that is more than the sum of its individual parts. People forget that, or don't bother learning that in the first place.
Here's a good example. You say you are "new to DIR." That's an inaccurate statement. You are new to a backplate and wing buoyancy control device. Do DIR divers utilize a BP/W? Absolutely. Does that make every BP/W diver DIR? Not in the least. This is a good example of how people misunderstand what DIR is, and in your case, simply equate it to some specific gear choices and a lot of practice. It's like someone owning a car and painting some numbers on it and calling themselves a race car driver, or saying they're "new to racing," or "somewhat of a driver." Hyperbole, sure, but illustrates the point.
Another one, "The DIR crowd is typically experienced and somewhat seasoned having gone through Rec and usually a few specialties towards Advanced OW if not out-right Tech Divers." This is a fundamental misunderstanding. DIR is not just a step in the ladder to your next certification. A DIR diver need not ever receive and AOW certification. A highly experienced technical diver may never follow any or all of the DIR philosophy. Again, DIR is a philosophy, a whole approach to diving, that isn't just some certification that has prerequisites and once you've passed the course you're "DIR." Fundamentally speaking, you just don't understand what you're talking about, and it's not surprising because the vast majority of the information available about it is incomplete, false, or misleading. Lots of people are in the same boat as you are.
Now, some brief historical perspective, DIR was used as a term by some very polarizing figures in the industry. There are quite a few older divers who will immediately write you off as a diver for even referencing anything you do as DIR. Even the implication that if you don't "Do It Right," you're doing it wrong has caused much consternation, even before guys like GI3 were actively calling people strokes because of it. It has long-lasting implications deep enough that GUE, the progenitor of the DIR movement, removed references to DIR a few years ago, and now it's simply historical context. When the creators of the philosophy change the context in which the term is used, it's safe to say there are still strong feelings towards it.
The grand point of all this is, you are not doing yourself any favors associating with DIR until you have an actual understanding of what it means. That means understanding the philosophy, understanding the systems, understanding the processes and procedures. Doubtful someone is gonna punch you in the face for saying you're new to DIR, but if your justification for saying you're "somewhat DIR" is because you simply own a BP/W and put a second stage on a necklace, it gives people on all sides the wrong impression.
That doesn't mean you can't head in that direction. It doesn't mean that you find a GUE instructor and have them teach you what DIR actually means, and it doesn't mean you can't embrace the philosophy and advance your scuba career down that path. Instead of taking a bunch of useless specialties take your new BP/W to a GUE Fundamentals class. I guarantee you will understand what DIR is after that course, and you will be a much much better diver. It's not too bad a drive from NC to cave country, and your money would be much better spent doing that than doing one deep dive to tick the box for AOW. Then you can decide if you want to follow that philosophy, if you want to take some parts of that and use it while disregarding other parts, or if the whole thing is contrary to what your interests are, and you'd prefer to stick with more mainstream recreational diving ideas.
Read the wikipedia page. I think you will find it enlightening.
Doing It Right (scuba diving) - Wikipedia
