The S21+ did better today with photos with the Scene Optimizer turned off.
I still think it over does it a bit on the exposure and skin smoothing, and the shutter is certainly a touch slower than it should be (compared to Pixel or not, the fact is it's not instantaneous and shots def blur if there is motion -- I wonder if you're better off shooting video and exporting a frame from that...?) but otherwise, it seems the S21+ will end up being a keeper for me. I'll just have to learn to adjust to the quirks of the still photography. Mainly, I'm adjusting the contrast before I snap.
The video taking capabilities of the Samsung deserves mention, too. It is just leagues better than the Pixel. Videos come out sharper, smoother, with better color representation and adjustment to changing lighting, and better audio, too.