I realize you may have had to work hard to grow it but.. Have you considered shortening the lowest branch
Many times. That branch actually was even much longer, I already shortened it once.
Every time I considered shortening it further however, I rejected the idea.
The branch is nice and tapered, thick at the base, reducing in girth towards the end - as we like it. The secondary branches too are thicker at the base then at the end of the branch - just the way it should be. I do not really see a secondary branch that can take over the tip of the main branch without reducing this effect and leaving a big wound (there now is only one small hardly visible wound where I shortened the branch last time).
Another reason not do do this is that I can do it only once, there is no way back. If I leave it there though, I can always decide later to do it. The length of the branch does not bother me much, and at this moment, as the tree was potted for the first time 2 years ago, and thinned out last year, my main concern is to keep it healthy. I'm not doing much about it this year, just a little wiring. While the tree is healthy, now that it is potted its growth has slowed down, so I do not want to take any extra risks.
My plan is what you wrote - work out the foliage pads. Originally there were three - quite dense - layers of foliate. I'm now splitting them up in separate pads. This requires wiring and growth - and time. I do want it more styled, with clouds of foliage, without loosing too much of the natural look you mentioned.