Yep, you’re making perfect sense and I love the way that you’re thinking here. Once bends start coming together for you, you might enjoy checking out this post:
Although you can just play the blues scale up and down, and it’s REALLY GRATIFYING, as you are studying in your improv course, to target notes in the chord over which you are playing, so practicing the arpeggios of I7, IV7, and V7 (as many of the notes as we have access too on the harmonica) from the very bottom of the harmonica to the very top.
This kind of practice will unlock all kinds of new ideas for soloing over blues compared to just running the blues scale and whatever licks we’ve learned.
I applaud you for the journey you are taking here @DavidW 