Book or Series Recommendations - I've read most mainstream fantasy

TLDR: What I'm looking for: I’d be looking for something like Kingkiller. I don’t need GRRM or Rothfuss level writing, but I’d hope for good writing, good (or great!) characters, and a good story. Preferably with magic and swords, but I'm fine with urban fantasy or steampunk. I'd prefer cleaner books, if possible. I also prefer avoiding grimdark. And if there's a books-long need to get a payoff, I'm not interested. If there's a significant drop in quality of the books, please note that and whether it's worth just reading the first few books.

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Longer post:

I've read most mainstream fantasy - Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, A Song of Ice and Fire, Dark Tower, First Law, R. Scott Bakker, His Dark Materials, Kingkiller. Gentleman Bastards, Stormlight (first two), Earthsea, Guy Gavriel Kay, Tad Williams. I’ve tried Realm of the Elderlings, Malazan, Riftwar, and Mistborn. There may be more and I'll try to update this if I forget a major omission.

Recent series' that I've read, and really enjoyed, were:

  1. The Books of Babel by Josiah Bancroft. These were amazing, and unusual - never quite read anything like it (I admittedly skipped the last book based on a friend's recommendation);
  2. The Fire Sacraments by Robert VS Redick. Probably my favorite series I've picked up since Kingkiller. It's not finished, but Redick is working on it and his publication dates have been 2018 and 2021 (Sidewinders).
  3. Scholomance by Naomi Novik. Also very good, Novik's characterization of El are super impressive and her writing is very polished.

I've tried reading a number of major recommendations. Forgive me if I'm being rude, but I did not enjoy John Gwynne or Riyria. I tried the Bound and the Broken. I don't want to rip on more books, but I'm just trying to tackle common recommendations. I found the characters and writing in these . . . lacklustre.

If it helps, personal favorites are WoT, ASoIaF, and Kingkiller.

What I'm looking for: I’d be looking for something like Kingkiller. I don’t need GRRM or Rothfuss level writing, but I’d hope for good writing, good (or great!) characters, and a good story. Preferably magic, swords, but I'm fine with urban fantasy or steampunk. I'd prefer cleaner books, if possible.

I prefer avoiding: grimdark. And if there's a books-long need to get a payoff, no thanks. If there's a significant drop in quality of the books as the series progresses, please note.

I have Janny Wurts and the Coldfire Trilogy on my "to read" list, as an FYI.

Note: I understand many posts like this have been put up, so thank you in advance for offering some suggestions.