SE Alaska (rainforest), vertical siding previously CWF

Hi, we are first-timers at wood re-finishing, living in Southeast Alaska with lots of rain, mostly gray skies and cool.  House built ~30 years ago, siding is either-cedar-or-not depending on which previous owner or contractor or inspector I believe.  Original wood preserving product was “CWF Clear Wood Finish for Exterior Wood,” 2nd owner continued with re-formulated “CWF-UV Penetrating Oil Finish for Exterior Wood,” Cedar color.  Siding faces all directions so some full sun, some partial, and some full shade.  Milgard anodized (?) aluminum window frames installed throughout.  A 10-yr-old yellow cedar deck (that was BM waterborne ArborCoated but we are now allowing to weather to bare gray) sits below part of the 2nd story siding and above part of the 1st story siding (thus will be subject to stray stripper…).  Small 3rd story siding sits *above* roofing of composite asphalt.  Most recent coating was applied more than 5 years ago.  In some places (mostly south facing) it's weathered to partially bare wood with stain flaking off, in others the stain seems intact.  Underneath the 2nd-story deck, the siding is much darker than the rest of the house -- unsure if it received different or fewer re-applications or why it looks different, though of course it is less weathered.  Mildew does not appear to be a problem on this house despite the climate, perhaps because it is mostly out in the open and gets plenty of breeze and light. We’ve determined that we probably want to change to a different semi-transparent stain than the reformulated (inferior?) CWF products.
1) Old CWF on our siding will require stripping then brightening if we wish to change manufacturer, correct?
2) Which stripper/brightener will take off CWF but not harm our aluminum window frames and asphalt roof?
3) How inferior *IS* the new CWF?  Is it possible we might just want to save ourselves all the difficulty of the strip/brighten on all the various facets of our siding, and only surface-clean in order to simply re-apply CWF?
4) "Local wisdom" here says that oil-based stains mildew more (a big-big problem in this climate), therefore require more frequent cleaning even though the stain itself is more durable.  ...And that water-based stains will not last quite as long but will require less maintenance in the intervening years between applications.  Do you agree with that assessment of the pros and cons of water- vs oil-based semi-trans stain for this climate?
5) With that in mind, plus knowing how few days each year we actually have temperatures above 50degrees and no rain, what semi-trans stain product would you recommend here?  Should we look to something that can apply to damp wood even if it's a  less optimal product?
(photos attached)
Thank you!