I ran into the same problem when I tried to load a personal mod alongside the Restoration Project. My changes were not taking effect because the RPU dat files were loaded later and overwrote everything. I tried using the ExtraPatches setting in ddraw.ini but it did not help.
This became...
Silent Running is most useful for melee or crit-based sneak builds. For ranged non-crit builds, it's usually not worth it unless you're playing very aggressively with close stealth positioning.
Completely agree on BG3 pacing. It's like they crammed every possible encounter and cinematic into Act 1 and forgot that flow matters. DOS2 felt tighter and more rewarding, even without the budget.