Thanks Ken, as always you're full of sterling advice.
Glad to know it's not required, but recommended. When setting up KSM I'd chosen to always load KSM on boot, so I can reach KOReader from there.
I would have kept the files in Nickel except the following reasons:
1. Unsure about a custom Collection managed outside Calibre with no books in it. Would Calibre delete it?
2. The PNG's getting buried under new books so they're not quickly accessible.
3. Rotating the KOReader PNG in Windows after it was already loaded because I didn't like the logo being sideways, causing that PNG to disappear from "My Books".
Would you know about how Calibre handles device collections without books in them with its auto management setting? To be clear, my collections are managed via Calibre. It's set to delete collections on the device with no books in them.
If not, I'll try it and report back, but would love to save the time if you know.