> That JS request to GA also has your referrer in it, in the clear. (...) If the link ends with Google Analytics, but doesn't start with it, then when you reach that end page, the referrer sent to GA in the clear will state where you came from.

I'm curious. In that case, the GA JS is requested from what you call the "end page", so the referrer it has should be the "end page", not the one before it.