Just want to bump this post as the last response outlines the exact problem I'm dealing with. Sluggish CC updates trying to control the expression pedal via DAW automation. I'm surprised there was no official response since 2016 on this issue. Anyone have any ideas on mlane22's problem? I've tried everything I can think of.
Edit: After a year of trying various things, I've finally figured it out. At first I thought it was because I was sending too many messages to the Helix. Nope. It's because the plugin was sending to All MIDI channels. Once I set it to only send on channel 1 the problem evaporated. There. That works. Cheers.