Do I have this correct? In order to prevent the pick from getting hung up on the string when you do the upstroke (garage spikes), the pick has to travel in the same path on the upstroke as it did on the downstroke.
That was my takeaway based on what I read on this site recently.
That’s correct for USX (upward escape) picking, but won’t hold true for DSX (downward escape) or DBX (double escape) picking.
Basically you have to find a trajectory which lets the pick slide over the string instead of “grabbing” it. What this means in practice will depend on your hand position and motion so there’s no one recipe that fits all (as @tedtan alluded).