I suspect that this is primarily a feel thing, and something that you just get better at with experience. I know how to not make it worse (no hard braking, try to maintain front wheel trajectory, etc.), but other than dropping a foot and praying, is there anything I should be focusing on? I find myself scrubbing off more speed than I'd like going into medium turns on dry/loose surface, only because I fear the all-too-familiar sudden and intimate contact with a tree.

I should mention that I'm riding familiar trails mostly and I already know where the bleeding edge of traction is going into those turns. It just feels like (currently) this is the most limiting factor in my riding ability.

Not really interested in a tire discussion per se, plenty of threads already on width, pressure, rubber compound, tubeless, etc.- at some point any tire setup will break traction under the right (wrong?) conditions. Just wondering what your thoughts are on the skills/technique aspect.