If you want seamless gear changes, then maybe you should consider an IGH hub.

Some of the shifting issues you describe are partly that maybe you are shifting when at a very very low cadence and putting a bit of muscle into the cranks. The slower you are going with cadence the easier you need to be on the pedals when shifting. If you are up around 85 rpm or better, then you should be able to get smooth shifts at most any power output. At least that's been my experience, though I can't say I've had issue at low cadence, though I don't try to muscle through a pedal rotation at 30 rpm while trying to shift.

And if you want to know if a 1x crank will solve your problems, then don't shift the front.

If this is a 3x bike, then leave it in the middle ring of the front as that is about the tooth count that many 1x are.