Or even just something to detect and keep “important” edge loops. I'm still really new to Houdini, but i was curious if there are any smart nodes that handle that. Anyway to group edges by certain properties quickly?

Seems like remeshing while feeding it hard edge groups is the only option, but even then, it just keeps those edges in place. it doesnt actually remesh with edge loops that fit along side those groups.

The remesh recreates the shape using triangles. Maybe you can check the subdivide sop, if you want to increase the resolution.

I'm looking more for something to clean up the geo after a bunch of booleans, while keeping at least a good chunk of the edge flow.

If I get what you mean, then I suggest taking at look at the sop ‘dissolve flat edges’. You need to have installed the gamedevtools to have it.

You can also try Polyreduce SOP with Preserve Quads option

alright, i'll check those nodes out, thanks you two!