I would expect that for some modules (networking, video, and FS can be loaded as modules) you can just put the new version of the module in a somewhat-earlier v

I would expect that for some modules (networking, video, and FS can be loaded as modules) you can just put the new version of the module in a somewhat-earlier version of the kernel. I mean, if the ABI or internal kernel macros change, you're in for some porting work, but most of the kernel stuff can be configured as loadable modules. :)