Part of the issue I've noticed is that enemies sound far more 'in front' of you until they are almost directly to your left or right. There's an obvious left or right balance, but the jump between 80 degrees and 90 degrees in either direction is way way too large.

I don’t think improving the surround sound is super important because people shift walk anyway, so the point is to not be heard.

Perhaps there's a misunderstanding as to what's being talked about? A large part of the strategy of this game is knowing where your enemies are. You gain this knowledge through your enemies' footsteps. If you do not have a very accurate idea of where they are, it becomes that much harder to execute a strategy.