I found that I did need to up the player’s turn speed, and I also gave him a little more jump power. I want the player to be able to jump on a 1x1x1 block fairly easily.
Since the game will be indoor/outdoor, I created a cul-de-sac with a tree, a walkway platform and an interior hallway. If the player is right up against the short walls, you can see his head pretty easily. Then on the building side, the buildings taper up to be the full height on the side opposite the camera.