Pressure of any note is something I really only use during the early stages of a progression, generally a bit of downward torque towards the bevel. If there are some odd spots I might use selective pressure along the edge to compensate for that. By the time I hit whatever hone I'm finishing with I start with just a hint of pressure and then slowly back off until my final strokes are just lightly gliding across the hone.

Interestingly, Philipp, Sham has a video on honing with an Escher where he does much the same thing as you in that he keeps it just barely balanced in his hand: