I am using an Android Custom ROM on my device, also with a custom boot.img (custom kernel + cmdline + ramdisk). I now want to be able to view the kernel logs immediately aft
How about /data/dontpanic folder? After kernel panic happens, you can connect USB cable with your Android device and check the files in that folder through ADB.
I found this folder contains some apanic files after a kernel panic happens. For example, if a kernel panic just happened and you go check the folder, you might find these two files:
apanic_console
apanic_threads
You can find out in apanic_threads which thread / process is running when the kernel panic happens. In apanic_console you might find out more information such as the stack trace and values of some critical registers: PC, LR, etc.
They will help you get your debugging started.