My experience was that pretty much after every struts replacement they would ride too firm for the first few hundred miles, then “soften up” a little bit to the state how they ride for tens of thousands of miles longer.
I would suggest @gypsywomancafe_157361 to give it a little bit of time.
Also, it may be a good idea to replace rear ones as well to get more balanced (and more firm) ride
I really never paid much attention to ride quality until I started driving a Buick Lesabre with 15” tires and rear air shocks to work every day. Now when I get in my truck, or even my wife’s Avalon based SUV, I have to acclimate to the choppier ride.
As far as the OP’s concerns, I have read that oem shocks and struts are often valved to offer a cushier ride than most aftermarket units. Not sure how much truth there is to that, but if I have to replace, I’d use the oem parts. Even if the new units rode firmer than the old, you wouldn’t have “maybe I chose the wrong shocks/struts” in the back of your mind.
The only Honda I have owned had 2 wheels.
Yes, my reply was meant for the OP. I used your quote to acknowledge that I agree with your statement.
I have very mixed feelings about air suspension
Sure, the ride is nice . . .
But there’s a lot more stuff to break down
And the suspension components usually aren’t cheap, especially when you’re talking about the air compressor . . .
Yeah, it was my late grandparent’s car. I’m not sure I’d buy a vehicle with air ride.
Rides nice, though. I haven’t really had issues with it in 168k miles, although I think the little compressor runs more than it is supposed to when kids are in the back. Probably a leak somewhere (maybe the shocks themselves) but I haven’t looked for it. It’s fine when it’s just me driving back and forth to work, which is about all I use it for anymore.
I don’t know how long you’ll hold onto it . . .
But maybe there’s a way to convert it to conventional suspension, should the need arise . . . ?
Yeah, I think there is. Would probably go that route. But, the trans has started slipping quite a bit as of late after a 30 mile or more highway jaunt that gets the fluid nice and hot. I plan to drive it easy, shoot for 200k miles, and call it a day.
A friend of a friend of mine had converted his air-suspension Mercedes to use “conventional” shocks…
The ride quality became… subpar even to econoboxes… he was very unhappy with a result.
Thanks everyone for all the feedback and replies. I took it to a different well respected shop this morning to get a second opinion. They said the issue was a weak/lower quality part creating less support on the ride. So it sounds like the issue is the part. Not sure what to do now. 
If it’s due to a low quality part, the only thing you can do is to pay for good quality part. If it’s a defective part you can go back to original shop and request that they fix it.