WI: Bavaria remains divided?

[GauchoBadger]

The Duchy of Bavaria, a member state of the Holy Roman Empire, was divided around 1349 between the four sons of emperor Louis IV after his death. From then, the states of Bavaria-Munich, Ingolstadt, Straubing and Landshut were created. These feuded frequently amongst one another through the 15th century. Around 1504 or so, duke Albert IV of Bavaria-Munich managed to reunify the squabbling duchies and reconstitute Bavaria's power as a sub-state within the HRE.
But what if Bavaria, for whatever reason, had remained divided between multiple feudal states beyond the 16th century, like the region of Thuringia to the north? What would be the consequences?

 

[Vitruvius]

Well off the top I assume Austria wouldn't be able to grab Kufstein if the Bavarian succession plays out differently. Politics probably shifts a little in the early 16th century with multiple Bavarian lines. I imagine that the different branches would be pretty competitive for dominance of the Bavarian Kreise. Also unclear how they would intermarry with the Habsburgs which the Bavarians did quite frequently OTL. So I could see a scenario where one branch converts to Lutheranism. After all OTL all of the Palatine branches went Protestant OTL only gradually converting back (or dying out) one at a time over the 17th and 18th centuries.

So a divided and maybe even partially Protestant Bavarian could really upset things going into the 17th century. Bavaria was a leader in the Catholic League so how or even if that group emerges impacts the setup for the 30YW or its ATL analogue. During the 30YW the Austrian Habsburgs had to lean pretty hard on the Elector of Bavaria for support. With Bavarian weekend and split into competing states even if they're all still Catholic it's not too difficult to imagine the Habsburgs struggling without that support.