Elysium enemies.

[Kirb Your Enthusiasm]

I'll prelude this by saying I have no mouse icon because I'm on Epic (had a coupon that let me get it for 5 quid, couldn't really say no to that). I'm on Heat 10-12 with each weapon, so while I'm not a master, I've got a reasonable amount of experience with the game, so "git gud" doesn't fly, either. Just in case anyone jumps down my throat.
That said, I won't get crabby if I miss something or get something wrong and someone points it out to me.
This is something I've seen come up a few times in various places, and the general feeling is that it's just not a fun area to go through. I've heard different reasons for it, and that plus my own experiences have me thinking some of the enemies need a bit of an overhaul. Namely, the Exalted. The butterfly orbs and spreaders are fine, they're there to produce the kind of bullethell that you expect in a game like this, but the Exalted need a long, hard looking at.
The Shieldbearer is the worst of the bunch by far, so I'll start there. They're a pretty blatant example of an overtuned enemy - these dudes do NOT behave the way they advertise themselves. Any other game, they'd behave as expected - well-armoured turtlers that are more of an obstacle than a threat. Here? They have a dash that ends in a 360 degree melee sweep with a respectable AoE, especially for an apparently defensive enemy, and a projectile attack that has a wider range than that of the more clearly offense-oriented Exalted since it has three friggin' projectiles and goes through solid obstacles.
Seriously, why are sword and spear Exalted even in the game? Anything they do, Shieldbearers can do just as well, or better, while being completely immune to frontal attacks.
Moving onto the sword and spear Exalted, there isn't really that much to choose between them, except the spears a bit more stabby and the swords are a bit more slashy.
Adding to this, a general thing I've picked up on with the Exalted is that they seem to operate on their own, not very clear rules regarding staggering. I've had a number of instances where I've engaged an Exalted with no armour, hit it with something that should stagger/interrupt it's attack, yet I still get smacked anyway. I've seen this with the Satyrs and their dart-spit animation as well, though they're nowhere near as numerous in a run, so it's not as obvious as it is with the Exalted.

Now that I'm done whining, here's what I propose that could both a) maintain a good challenge regarding the Exalted, and b) make Elysium a good deal more interesting to go through.
The biggest aspect is that their AI behaviour should be changed in a thematically appropriate way. The only one of the Exalted that have appreciably different behavioural tendencies are the archers. This should be changed - the Exalted are former warriors, who were very likely ranked and respected in various armies and warbands. They would realistically be hardened soldiers with extensive experience in both group skirmishing and fighting in formation. So why don't they act like it? They just run higgledy-piggledy at you. Don't get me wrong, they're a painful annoyance to fight as they are, but that's more due to things like them ignoring stagger when they shouldn't, forcing the player to take a gamble if they're using a weapon that requires they move in close.
First, make them stagger as they should. Make their attacks interruptable if they have no armour. Remove or tone down some of the abilities available to the Shieldbearer. Then set up their AI to make them behave more like seasoned fighters. Have Spearmen link up into rows and charge you, while swordsmen sprint around your flanks and behind you. Have Shieldbearers deliberately and actively try to move between the player and the archers. Have the archers, in turn, try to stay behind Shieldbearers, or, if none are present, behind spearmen.
Basic, logical stuff like that. Take out some of the bull that they have going on, and have them group-fight in a way that makes them more than the sum of their parts to make up for it in a way that makes sense in-game, both mechanically and thematically.
I think that, overall, this would make Elysium more interesting to deal with, and feel a little less like the slog that it is right now.