Implementing view permissions in a module without Content Access (or similar module)

I am working on a module that allows authenticated users to store information in a node (for versioning and future expansion). By default, these nodes should not visible to other authenticated users (only to an administrative role). This is done via two module permissions "view own mynodetype" and "view any mynodetype". However, since most sites have "access content" permission set for the anonymous role, the "view" operation is never checked via hook_access() (because all roles have "view" permission for all nodes).

I know that the Content Access module (along with a few other modules) would allow finer control, but I would rather implement this directly in the module (to avoid unnecessary dependencies, and to keep things simple).

My solution thusfar has been to hide the custom fields via checks for "view own mynodetype" or "view any mynodetype" permissions in my module's hook_load() and hook_view(). This ensures that only users with proper permissions can see the custom node fields.

Example hook_load() -- if the user does not have permission, the custom fields will never even load into the node (this avoids any accidental passing of this data to other modules, views, etc.):

function example_load($node) {
  // Did the currently logged in user create this content?
  $is_author = $account->uid == $node->uid;

  // Check for view access before loading.
  if (!(user_access('view any mynodetype', $account)  ||
       (user_access('view own mynodetype', $account) && $is_author))) {
    return NULL;
  } else {
    // Do normal db_fetch_object() stuff here and return the complete node
  }
}

Example hook_view() -- if the user does not have permission, the custom fields will never be sent for view theming (this avoids any accidental passing of this data via theme templates or functions):

function example_view($node,$teaser = FALSE, $page = FALSE) {
  // Did the currently logged in user create this content?
  $is_author = $account->uid == $node->uid;

  $node = node_prepare($node,$teaser); // Prepare for display
  
  // Check for view access before displaying.
  if (!(user_access('view any mynodetype', $account)  ||
       (user_access('view own mynodetype', $account) && $is_author))) {
    $node->content['example_view'] = array(
      '#value' => 'You are not authorized to access this content.',
      '#weight' => -1,
    );
  } else {
    // Do normal field cleaning, and $node->content[] building here...
  }
  return $node;
}

This method successfully hides the custom fields. However, it would be better if there were a way to completely hide these nodes entirely, not just the custom fields (as if they were unpublished).

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to implement this? Or should I break down and either depend on Content Access, or not make this content a node at all?

Thank you,
Eric