The pamac list --foreign command that I’m using shows whether the package is from the AUR (at least that’s all I’ve seen so far). If a package is listed as alien but not actually foreign, how would it show in the pamac list response? In other words, is there something that would give me a clue that this is a situation such as you described and the package should not be removed until after the update?
I’ve been using Manjaro for a few years now and I STILL consider myself a new user because there’s just SO much to learn. This forum has given me a lot of help in that area. I’ve customized your procedure to fit my workflow and have been using it for the past few updates and everything has worked very nicely. This new wrinkle gives me something to think and learn about.