Maybe I misunderstand your idea, but it sounds like you want an ultra-high-tech system that can be more easily solved by an inexpensive low-tech one.

Indeed. Instead of investing in an expensive and complex set of electronics, upgrade the underlying physical system instead. When upgrading my own house, my first instinct was to "make it smart" with fancy thermostats, multiple zones, and plenty of monitoring. However, after weighing my options, I realized far greater gains can be made by simply buying a correctly sized efficient HVAC system. My new system is twice as efficient (26 seer vs 13 seer) and performs much better than any amount of electronic trickery could have acomplished.