Didn't see it mentioned elsewhere, but I thought a few people would be happy to hear about this. Relevant article here, but the gist is that if you log on to netflix.com using a desktop (or a forced desktop mode on mobile) browser, you can turn the auto-play off per profile under Manage Profiles > Select a profile > Uncheck 'Autoplay previews while browsing on all devices'.

Tested it out last night and hallelujah, I can stop shuffling around the app to stop something auto-playing while I am flipping through. Or my Shield flipping constantly between SDR/HDR because it landed on something  to be continued.