Usualy you repair/replace damaged/lose bricks and fill deep voids, knock down the protruding mortar and run the tuck-pointer blade over the joints and stucco will fill everything else.

In the 1st picture, with the amount of mortar on there, it looks like someone tried to repair lose brick or did a bad tuck-pointing job... I'm not sure how much of the wall area is in that condition but it will require lots of prep work.

Your best bet is to get a few mason contractors who familiar with that finish and have them evaluate everything and see what they suggest.

Good luck.

I haven't done this method but I have done some sloppy pointing on stone work, if that counts. I'd knock a few of the high spots off and use a standard mason's mix. It should fill holes and schmear on pretty well. If it doesn't, be prepared to add some lime to get a richer, more workable mix.

@GN Builders L.L.C yeah I would not be surprised the previous owner did a lot of botched jobs we’ve been stuck with trying to fix. Thanks for your insight and advice!

@Seabornman thanks this is really helpful! Tempted to try it ourselves, hoping the wall is not actually in as poor condition to truly need professional repair...