> wmic cpu ...

This is the WMI solution we are trying to avoid.

But then again, if it's solely for our tests, perhaps the best way to approach this is to start a Python thread that periodically runs this command?

I also haven't seen it suggested, but perhaps GetProcessTimes (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/api/processthreadsapi/nf-processthreadsapi-getprocesstimes) (or GetThreadTimes) would provide enough information to detect the same information?