That worked, thanks 
I think I finally have what I set out to do at the beginning. Basic behavior is functioning virtually exactly as I wanted it to:
Camera can still clip into the ground if the pitch is really low, but it’s very minor, and I think I can find a way to work around that.
Spring arm is a little too snappy (when it zooms in/out on the player) but that’s a topic for another discussion.
Thanks everyone who lent a hand in this endeavor, I think I can say this question is now resolved for the time being.