@kgudahl, only thing I have found is to add a 301 redirect from the WP category page to your custom category page.
Not dangerous SEO wise but not a really clean option…

I have exactly the same problem here.

I would like to add image with links redirecting to subcategories instead of a list of posts like there is in a normal category page.
I created a custom page that has exactly what I want :
– a title
– a subtitle
– 3 pics with link redirecting to the subcat
– 5 most read articles

When I put it in the menu I see the page but the posts don’t have their main category showing in the breadcrumb nor they have the new page in it.

How can I get the category page like the page I designed ?

Thanks