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Having successfully finished up this project (like a month ago), I thought I'd throw in some final commentary (ie answering my own questions, posed above). (Hopefully, so as to make things a little easier for others trying this for the first time.)
To begin with, I did not remove the shield (#3 in the photo above). It might have helped, but it really looked like it would be a pain to do.
This is what I did do: I noticed that as I tried to manipulate the loosened-but-not-yet-freed alternator, it seemed to be tapping up against the head of one of the bolts holding the intake manifold in place. You can see this bolt in the photo above: it’s just above and very slightly to the left of the #1 on the pic. It’s not too hard to access, so I got a wrench in there (a little box-end, as I recall---no room for a ratchet) and removed it. Bingo---I had the alternator out within two minutes. Don’t know if this will help in all cases, but it sure made the difference in mine (a 2001 S). Don’t lose the bolt or forget to replace it!
The rest went pretty smoothly. I took the alternator into a place in Akron (a place recommended by my usual mechanic) for servicing. (It's a place that's been in business for like 60 years or more. Talked to one guy---probably 70---who had worked there basically all his life. You walk in and there's alternators everywhere: on shelves, countertops, floor----you’re trippin’ over them.) They charged me $95 for a thorough rebuild. I don’t know a whole lot about it, but that didn’t seem too bad.
Putting everything back together was pretty easy. And it runs. AND, it turns out I don’t even need a new battery (yet) as I had originally thought. Frosting on the cake.
All in all, a very “do-able” job, even for someone without a ton of mechanical experience (like me!).
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Threaded Mode
