I screwed up my vote 'cause I hadn't had my coffee yet. After trying everything I came across, including the amazing examples of beautiful hardware, and going back to the 5 and then 6 modified defaults for a while, I got a tip on another board to try Hydrogenous by Lamda, which hasn't been updated in good ages, and haven't left it. It's one of the most productive and straight forward I've found that is also good on the eyes.
https://stash.reaper.fm/theme/1372/Hydrogenium.zip