” Is the sefer really more out of bounds than a typical daas yachid?’
Why would you say so, the sefer haMoarah was studied by many great minds, the אברבנאל , Nishmas Chaim, the רשב”ץ (Magen Avos) even some great chassidic thinkers studied it in depth.
Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk constantly quotes the sefer haMorah in אור שמח and משך חכמה .