Agreed: the smudge doesn’t belong there, next to the ultra shadow in direct sunlight. That’s not how shadows look irl.
That being said, the halo is worse. It might be useful on an ipad, but it’s visually disturbing on my 50" monitor. My avatar looks like an afterthought – like it doesn’t belong in the scene. The halo is a barrier to the immersive effect; it breaks the illusion of being “in the matrix.”
How about an option to turn it off? Or get rid of it. It seems unnecessary.