If appearance is more important than comfort, then cope with the pain. ;-) A comfortable eBike is a LOT of fun, so fit any kind of handlebar necessary to make it right. Peruse the photo gallery/threads on this and other sites to see how many others have chosen the comfort option.
It can be done. The shop mechanic needs to call Shimano support when working on your bike. Via the dealer eTube link-up, 'support' will unlock the Steps program so changes can be made.
At the same time, maybe the missing features can be reset.