I hope I didn't seem dogmatic with my "rules of thumb with exceptions". They are just that, nothing carved in stone or anything. a starting point. I believe that every rider should do what they feel comfortable with and develop a personal approach.

I have greased bar clamps, too, to deal with squeaks. But I in my case, it temporarily hid the fact that there was an issue with the stem clamp not being properly machined (a manufacturing error) which introduced play and stress at a critical juncture. I think the important thing to recognize is that sometimes a click or a squeak is just that, and sometimes it is a symptom of a more serious issue. the trick is distinguishing the two, and that just takes time and experience.

Regarding ITA bottom brackets and bbs in general, yes, some sort of interface compound is critical. But which compound is, in my experience, a surprisingly controversial topic.

A question: Other than not being tight enough and unavoidable precession forces, what other issues are you thinking of that cause ITA bbs to loosen? I am truly interested to learn, having recently (inadvertently) acquired a(nother) bike with an Italian bb. I have restored several bikes with ITA brackets, and things have been ok, but I am always looking to improve.