Out of curiosity, when we pour large concrete slabs there are control joint cut into the surface to control where the crack goes, this is due to the high rate of shrinkage. So I wonder if you were to apply the same theory to a daub wall and force the cracks to happen in specific places one could go back and fill these cracks later after it has dried. Otherwise it just shrinks willy nilly.

If my understanding is correct, bricks are small enough and independent of one another, as such, they do not shrink on a large scale. Similar to 2-1/2" wide hard wood flooring compared to wide boarding.