Yet if the only use for footnotes is to house whatever the author just couldn't bear to part with, even when that information doesn't contribute to the overal t

Yet if the only use for footnotes is to house whatever the author just couldn't bear to part with, even when that information doesn't contribute to the overal thrust of the argument, then endnotes are precisely the right solution: through their location they indicate to the reader that really they shouldn't bother to read them unless they absolutely want to. Footnotes are in-your-face and communicate the idea that actually they're a part of the body copy in disguise.