Hello all,

This probably seems rudimentary but I seem to have always struggled in trying to find the right way to smooth out keyframes.

Seems no matter what I use, easy easy, ease in, out, etc.  It always seems a bit choppy.

If I'm reading you right - I think you're just using the wrong keyframe type.
Any form of easy ease always implies a stop in the motion. So if you have a series of position kf's each with easy ease applied the object is going to stop momentarily at each one.

What you need to use is an auto-bezier kf.  Ctrl / Cmd click on your kf until you see a big round one : )
That will have a somewhat similar temporal smoothing effect to easy ease - but doesn't force a stop in motion.

Hope this helps.

Mke A.