One possible workaround to this might be to clear the knee pole from the IK constraint, then instead use a locked track bone constraint on both the thigh and shin (both targeted to the knee pole.)
This way you still get a “pole-like” behavior from the locked track constraints, while the limit rotation properties are respected in the IK tab.
I tried this and the “pole” (target of the locked track constraints) seems to work just like a regular pole. However, once you reach the rotation limits you set, the behavior of the “pole” starts to break down in favor of the rotation limits.
