Lost Modulations of Phandelver

[ZenBear]

So I imagine most if not all DMs have run Lost Mine of Phandelver at some point since 5e's release. I'm curious to know how many of you have tweaked it, slightly or significantly, to better suit your setting/story and how it has turned out. I'm shoehorning in my own homebrew monsters and villainous motives to segue my players from a pregen Forgotten Realms module into my homebrew setting that is just a cluster**** of totally disconnected tropes and nonsensical tie-ins, and it's a lot of fun but also a lot of work. What sort of changes have you implemented to this module to fit it into your campaign?

[Trask]

I actually haven't run it, but if I ever did I'd make several significant changes.

1. I would make the Redbrands not explicitly villains and disconnect them from the Black Spider. I think they would work much better as simple unsavory toughs who think they own the place. The PCs can dislike them, but dont have to fight them. They could even team up with them. What the Redbrands care about is keeping their grip in on the town, squeezing the townsfolk, and eliminating any threats to that order of business. Much more interesting that way. Also make them not stupid, they ambush the party with, what? 2 guys? In broad daylight? How did they ever make it this far?

2. Make the town more cool. It has great potential as a border town, sort of like a cowboy town or something. Rough customers, and thugs running then place. Play that up. The only place that doesnt smell like whisky, tobacco, or horse manure is the church. The inn becomes more of a watering hole for locals, watery wine cheap whisky, a smoke. No beds, ask a farmer to put you up in his loft. You can sleep next to his pigs.

3. Make the bad guy more compelling. As it stands, hes kind of lame. He doesnt really do anything. Make him do stuff. Capture and torture miners and lumberjacks, hang them up by their feet with their faces skinned off. Hes desperate to find the mine before his debtors find him. At this point just drop the drow thing, its kind of pointless. He was only a drow so new players could see a drow, but its pointless otherwise. Just make him a really REALLY in debt mage from the big city who needs to strike it big with this treasure, and hes willing to kill for it.