Well, I have to say that when I started this thread, my intention was to understand why I shouldn’t expect good results by using my custom linear camera profile all through the process until my stacks were finished.
I wanted to know how could I get the results I wished within RawTherapee, and now I have a clear idea of what to do and don’t.
I didn’t want to judge how well, or not so well Zerene handles linear gamma images, but this discussion diverted that way, and I’m happy I have learnt a better way to handle my images from start to finish.
Finally, I want to thank everybody for their help, and for sharing their knowledge. Thank you all!