The kayaking was excellent, highly recommended, for anyone who finds this in the future and is curious.

We used yooper yatchs, and had a great time. The guides were super informative, but also super chill. Just regular people hanging out with you.
We saw "pictured rocks kayaking" going ahead of us. They had newer all matching kayaks, and all matching paddles and vests. Also they had a big boat that came and literally scooped up all the kayaks so nobody had to paddle the 3 miles back to the starting location, which honestly would've been nice.
But... Their group was bigger than ours by a lot, which is a bad thing. And I can't help but imagine the whole operation is a lot more "corporate", and rigid. Though I don't know this for sure.
I would use yooper yatchs again, personally.