Windows

Another option is to boot into safe mode, go to c:\windows\system32\drivers and see if you have any of these files dated from 2018 (listed below). One or multiple of them is the culprit. I renamed my SoftwareDistribution folder to *.old and renamed these three files to *.old. Then was able to boot. I have this on four Dell laptops now, all of which were a few years old.

dptf_acpi.sys
dptf_cpu.sys
esif_lf.sys

Thank you both for the input, it's truly been a lifesaver.

We had another one BSOD with the same error today, marking 4 in total. I System Restored to before the Windows Updates like the others, so I've got it stable for now.

I see the files for:
dptf_acpi.sys
dptf_cpu.sys
esif_lf.sys
They date back to 2014. Should I follow the same guidelines and rename them as .old along with the SoftwareDistribution folder? If so, once I rename the to .old do you think I'd be able to re-start Windows Updates successfully without getting the BSOD? Or is that method just icing on the cake to installing driver updates?

Speaking of installing driver updates, I don't see an option to disable the Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework driver. I could go one-by-one and update drivers by having it search for the updates on the web automatically, should I take that route?

If you are stable then you shouldn't have to mess with renaming SoftwareDistribution or the other files. I was doing that as a means of getting it fixed. I had a few laptops that would immediately BSOD again because the update causing teh issue was downloaded and ready to intall. So within a few couple minutes of getting the PC to boot up it would BSOD again because the update started trying to install again. So, renaming the SoftwareDistribution folder bought me some time to get the wuauserv service disabled before it would BSOD again. The 2014 version of those files are the good ones. So no need to rename those files now.

Ah, gotcha. I've the Windows Updates disabled via Services and Group Policy (Configure Automatic Updates = Disabled). Will Windows attempt to start updates again after a certain amount of time even though the service is currently stopped and disabled on startup and the GP is set to disabled for auto-updating?

I am trying this https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3073930/how-to-temporarily-prevent-a-driver-update-from-reinstalling-in-window advice to "hide" this particular update.
Renaming the three files and the SoftwareDistribution folder allowed me to reboot, (actually rebooting three times telling me that my system was "Working on updates" first, but luckily those renamed files did not reappear!
I immediately froze updates in Settings, then used the troubleshooter tool linked above to list all updates, and select the OP's named update (listed twice identically) to be hidden.

Is this a good way to avoid this update?
When should I allow this update? Is it OK to block it forever?

I've tried disabling the Windows Update service and also tried hiding the update (and actually tried hiding all updates that showed as available to install). But, after a few days, I inevitably end up back in the blue screen/system restore/try something else loop.

Definintely curious if the Show/Hide Updates utility is working for anyone. Or if anyone has found another permenant solution?

And I know this is wishful thinking, but has anyone seen any news from Intel or Microsoft on this?