I forget who said that he'd never met anyone who had received K&C before age 34 (I think that was the number). I don't know if he was exactly right, but he was at least approximately right. So, while I agree his authority might be in question, his advice might be correct.

"I’ve recently started performing the preliminary rituals of the Golden Dawn self-initiation two months ago... " Good. So you're like a Zelator and you want to do evocations now? This isn't McDonald's. Do these rituals for another 10 months and keep layering on the information. Learn your Hebrew, your tarot, your kabbalah, visualization, etc. Do your studying, your mediation, your exercises, all that is required. In ten months hopefully you'll feel less "scattered, undisciplined, unfocused." You're obviously well-read and have some previous experiences that could help you along your path but these cannot substitute for time -- time over which you need to repeat the LBRP (as one example).

The greats, Crowley, Regardie, etc., said that K&C was the ultimate purpose of magic workings, not the immediate purpose. Get focused on what you've started. Get focused period. Make a long-term plan and don't hop from system to system. I think you'll know after 10 more months of continuing your GD self-initiation how to proceed.

I hope that none of this comes off as mean, it is just what I have learned over the last 30 years or so of reading and studying. I may be a grumpy old man, but a lot of what I am saying here has been said by others (and ignored by even many more who never got anywhere with their magic.)

p.s. -- The real red flags might be with you. You quote: "So long as the aspiration of the soul is pure, clean-motived and unsullied by the mere selfish desire for power, then little harm can come to the magician in pursuit of the Evocation technique." Then you say: "I’m also wondering if pilfering the bank account of my former cult leader to reclaim the six figures I gave out of duress (plus interest) is within the scope of this work (only kinda kidding). " Can you see how that when I read that, the one doesn't jibe with the other?