Has anyone ever swapped in LESS firm shocks?

[edc]

It sounds like your complaint is the primary ride. I doubt off the shelf coilovers will solve your problem. These are generally aimed at being "uprated" so soft setting isn't necessarily significantly softer than standard. Have a look at the FSD / Special Active. These are similar of softer than stock in the initial primary ride but stiffen up with load. Your other option of course is a custom spec build.