After reading Jatin's response, I realize I should clarify:
I am trying to make use of the release & stop indicator functions of the milestone, like this:
The root of the problem is: The "release following" function fails to release downstream activities because the WBS those activities are in is not released; releasing the WBS forces the activities to be released immediately before the milestone is confirmed.
So what is the point of the Release milestone functions? How can it be used when this conundrum exists?