Thank you for the in-depth review, this has been SUPER helpful.
1. A lot of my stuff might be stiff is due to me playing the notes on my keyboard, then manually clicking them in on the piano roll or quantizing them into place.. I guess I got hyper fixated on everything being strictly on beat--but I didn't realize that could be a negative (maybe it makes it sound less human?)
2. Yeah, it started to annoy me, as well. But it blends so well in the original track on the Genesis, I guess that's where I need to learn more and practice more mixing.
3. Yeah, some people on the Discord said to do that to make it my own. Despite this being a 1:1 learning experience, I would like to create something that I could submit for an official remix. So, for further practice, since I'm familiar with Green Hill Zone, I'll try to make an actual remix. I'm currently listening to other genres and jotting down ideas throughout the day.
Seriously, thank you for the help! You've (and everyone else) has me inspired to stick with it!