I wonder if there is any benefit for these pads as they create a small capacitor to every circuit node. On the other hand I do not have equipment to measure the noise anyway.
If the capacitance serves to make the prototype a more accurate representation of the production model then it does. I have seen the same construction technique used with strips cut to a width to make 50 ohm microstrip transmission lines for RF work. If low capacitance and leakage is required, then just air wire those nodes.
How did you connect the pads to the copper clad board? Glue? Solder?
I was thinking of laying out tiny boards with various surface mount footprints with pads only on the top and maybe pads for common things like local decoupling. Corner or edge plated through hole pads could be soldered from the top or side for attachment to a copper clad board below.
I did use glue as the copper is 1-sided, old stock ... cheap ... did I mention already that I'm cheap.
I just used a bandsaw to cut one board to strips and then with side cutters I do cut them to the right length.
The coupling to the ground plane (the intact copper surface) from the strips might reduce some noise, but again it might create oscillations as it just "happen to be there". I do not have equipment to measure down to the noise floor so for me the noise is pretty irrelevant atleast for now... Like I said I
need better meter now, since I did hit to my measurement limit with this board (The wonders of bridge measurements.).
The reference is in star-ground btw. While the supply filter capacitors aren't.