Our internal audit team would become NC "maniacs" if that was the case.

I glimpsed through the 19011 standard and didn't find anything stating that either. Thanks for all the help!
ummmm....I am not sure what you mean by this. Things are either nonconforming or not. Your internal audit team should identify nonconformances. It is your job to make sure that they know the difference between a nonconformance and an opportunity. If I even thought that my internal audit team was identifying nonconformances and NOT issueing a CAR on them, I'd be doing some remedial training.
I have seen internal auditors issue, or try to issue, dozens of CARS on related nonconformances and the PA/CA system overloaded with bs. If this is the case, you need to explain that one CAR can take care of the same problem in different areas, or various infractions against one clause can be issued as one nonconformance against that clause i.e. if Sue doesn't put the tag on the product to show it failed, and Roy didn't input the information into the computer it can be one nonconformance for failing to identify nonconforming product not two because it was two different people in two different locations.
This stuff is all (un)common sense. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you p!$$ off enough people, you won't get any "buy in" from your employees. Someone, usually the MR or a separate lead auditor, whatever yo have availiable to you, has to stay on top of these things to make sure you strike a balance.