I agree with all of your points, and I would absolutely love NPC-based automation. I’m not burnt out on Boundless yet, but I can see it on the horizon. Your suggestions and feeback are where I will be soon (though I’m going to slow down play soon because I need some action that hunts doesn’t provide)
Have you been to my build: The Wizard's Tower Ruins? I used signs to build a little bit of a narrative. It was… not easy, and having to use signs to build a narrative like that is both very difficult and immersion breaking for the user. I want to build experiences, not just static structures.