I've read this whole thread, and I've got one question that'll frame my responses:
Which Janeway is being talked about in the original post?
Because if it's the Endgame Vice Admiral Janeway with the All Good Things/The Visitor uniform, that's not the same person as the Captain Janeway with the DS9/VOY uniform that we saw for 7 years. The Endgame Vice Admiral Janeway had to endure 23 years of traveling through the Delta Quadrant, on top of Tuvok going crazy, Seven and Chakotay dying, etc. In fact, all the stuff that she had to endure is why she went back in time to help Captain Janeway avoid turning out the way that Endgame Vice Admiral Janeway did.
So, if anyone was going to be punished, it would be Endgame Vice Admiral Janeway, not Captain Janeway, who, if you remember from watching Endgame was all in favor of destroying the transwarp hub, as opposed to selfishly using it to get home. It was only by Endgame Vice Admiral Janeway sacrificing herself that allows them to both destroy the transwarp hub and go home.
Now, moving on to the promotion:
-More first contacts than any other Starfleet captain (Pretty much any new race or group encountered period).
-Survived more encounters with the Borg than any other Starfleet captain (possibly excepting Picard)
-Dealt the Borg one of the biggest blows ever (which, if you don't count the Trek Lit novels, could possibly even be a death blow)
-Hundreds of kiloquads of data on the Delta Quadrant, a heretofore unknown and unexplored area of the galaxy, were submitted in 2374. When Voyager actually physically returned home, and all during the time period with which they were able to establish contact with Starfleet Command, the amount of information increased dramatically.
-The ablative armor and transphasic torpedoes, which would provide a huge boost in tactical and defense capabilities.
-The Astrometrics Lab and any other upgrades/modifications that had been made during the 7-year journey, possibly including any modifications that the Borg had provided during the brief alliance.
-The various logs and readings, providing more information than Starfleet could ever have hoped to get on the effects of long-term, long-distance missions on Starfleet crew.
-The Delta Flyer, and numerous technological and engineering files providing yet more information on the durability and survivability of Starfleet vessels, particularly on long-range, long-term assignments with limited access to Starfleet facilities. More specifically, information on slipstream and transwarp technology, which would be a huge boon to Starfleet, particularly in regards to actual field tests.
-Acting as representatives of Starfleet and the Federation
And so on.
Plus, after 7 years of all of the above and 7 years of intense stress, not to mention frequent skirmishes and conflicts, far away from home and pretty much on your own for the most part, wouldn't you want to take it easy for a while?
In regards to Before Dishonor:
I absolutely, positively hate that book. I sold it to Half-Price Books as soon as I was able. I didn't recognize Janeway at all (it doesn't help that Peter David doesn't like her anyway), and found it by turns bizarre, inappropriate, and flat-out idiotic. It is why I refuse to buy any more of his books, period. Not just because of Janeway, but because it was a horrible book period. Janeway could have stayed alive (and by stayed alive, I specifically mean considered to still be alive, since I am convinced she is alive, with the Female Q, and is just waiting to come back) and I wouldn't have changed my mind (though I would have been happier).