So, more explorations with Max 4 Live are underway. It is interesting under there. I ran into a problem where I automated some parameters and then skipped to another place in my Live set. When I pressed play the parameters of my max patch were a little whacky and I need to bang them to get fresh updated statuses. Loadbang doesn't work since it wasn't an instantiation of a device.
I found the solution. The live_set has a parameter that is observable and will tell you if Live is playing. Guess what it is called? That's right - is_playing. So I have a screenshot of this snippet of a Max 4 Live patch that you can check out an use to send a bang when Live is set to play.
Enjoy!