To your last point, emails leaked from Bannon, Milo, and white supremacist groups they communicated with via Milo make this point about Bannon's political strategy. He is basically the new form of putting a suit on a KKK member. He is an intelligent and well read guy but this has only made him more political deft in peddling white nationalism supported by a belief in white supremacy. When his most recommended book is the Camp of Saints, that should be enough."He's pushing WN, so he must be a fed!"
Anything to distance your precious MAGA from the white supremacists that it courts. Bannon hired these type people to work for Breitbart, that had a section dedicated to "black crime".
He was cool with them until the mask started slipping. Charlottesville had them panicking.
Yes this from buzz feed but can't get angry rhey are the ones who got access to the emails.
Here's How Breitbart And Milo Smuggled White Nationalism Into The Mainstream
The important piece here in one email to Milo as Milo is updating him on his work with straight up white supremacists, Bannon replies "I don't want to know how the sausage is made". Its been a while since I read the piece but I also believe he tells Milo to stop talking about this via email because he realizes having a paper trail of this shyt is dangerous.
He is aware of the "optics" while people like Nick Fuentes and his ilk argue "fukk the optics". They share the same worldview, just differ In how to go about it. Bannon likes the indirect involvement and using the more meat head brutish white supremacists as foot soldiers in pushing his ideology.