Are you pre or post path? It is hard for me to relate to your description partly because I did not do binary noting or thought only noting before 4th path and partly because your account still leaves much room for interpretations.
If you do binary noting Silence/Noise, do you notice gaps in your mind stream? These gaps are short periods of silence and at first they may be very fast if the mind is going full steam. When the body is sufficiently tired for example after a physical exertion or otherwise quiet like in a beautiful natural environment, the mind may be slower and the gaps longer. One can also slow down the mind deliberately by doing certain types of Pranayama breathing exercises. Once your mind is tuned to that silence, it is easier to hear it in the middle of every day life also.
When I do the binary noting, the gaps get longer and longer until thoughts do not necessarily arise at all. There still some basic fluctuation or vibration of the mind present giving rise to proto thoughts and mental images from time to time. The mind stops clinging to the sensory experiences and there is a feeling of great relief as everything is let go of. As the silence lengthens through practice, more mind stuff is dropped away as a result and this may result in a perfect Shikantaza experience.
I think this practice is experienced a bit differently at various stages of one’s development, but I would say that one major result is a feeling of clarity that comes from the quieting of the discursive mind.
I would be interested to hear more about how you experience binary noting practice.
Antero's practice journal 