Every opinion herein rests on several reasonable experiments and follow-ups carried out over a lifetime.
That certainly in no way implies any pose of "infallibility."
...I encourage each of you to try things out, discover like I've discovered, what actually works for ear, and what is only visual chauvinism at work again in audio -- where it sure doesn't belong.
Different strokes for different folks.
Saw the below years ago, took it under consideration, experimented.
Decided it works best for me in my space for now.
Now have validation from Guthrie.
View attachment 84026
NB that neither Dolby nor ITU recommend this setup, where each surround is 135 degrees wrt to center. 110-120 (Dolby) or 100-120 (ITU) are the common recommendations. Carlos touts 90-95 degrees...'surrounds' directly or almost directly left and right of MLP.
Like she says, it's all worth a try.