That makes sense. But it looks like your adjustments come as you twiddle encoder1.
In fact looking closer I think calling brightness() with colorUpdate true will not return and also hit the EEPROM too much.
I would use a button and an LED that would mean you have to press the button to lock in the changes or something like that along the lines of @anon46966594.
Or make the changes automatically after a certain period of inactivity. A risk of missing something unless you alos add the Hail Mary pass to EEPROM as power sags.
a7