yitayningwut, I believe it’s based on that it’s a davar maamid, so it can never be batel. It does add a smooth texture to products, which is why it is used. In addition to your sevaras, it’s at one point nifsal me’achila, and you can say panim chadashos. you and your rav are not to’eh bedvar mishnah (a ch”m phrase). Yabia Omer agrees. Even Reb moshe ZT”L, who assured gelatin from treif sources, held that kosher gelatin is parve. So you can’t say it’s meat.
In regards to carmine and gelatin, the mainstream kashrus organizations follow the machmirim, but you can definitely make a case fahkert.