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And, due to stupidity, I deleted the DB file (s) hoping that you could force File History to "reattach" to that store, scan it, rebuild the DB and we could get on with life.

You can disable Windows Thumbs.db files from being created using Group Policy or Registry Editor. Stop or prevent Windows from creating Thumbs.db!

In conclusion, while the discovery of the consolidated.db file’s behavior is concerning, it is reassuring to know that it is likely a bug rather than a deliberate design choice.