Computes the maximum target-domain sequence bound of the output of merging
inputs. A bound can be a row maximum or an admission marker; compaction
must preserve both for sequence-based pruning. Unknown bounds must remain
unknown rather than being replaced with a partial maximum.
Compaction does not admit new data, so it inherits the input sequence bounds
without allocating a new admission marker. Retaining physical row sequences
does not by itself restore exact-read capability for untrusted inputs.