How to improve .docx output?

["'Nick Bart' via pandoc-discuss" <pandoc-discuss-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org>]

For a certain project, I am forced to generate.docx documents.

While trying this out, I noticed that pandoc's default output still
feels somewhat rough around the edges in a number of aspects.

There are some issues that I have been able to fix using a
custom-reference.docx file (labelled as "can fix" below).

I have had trouble with others; some problems might of course be due to
the fact that I do not own Word (and have no inclination whatsoever to
buy it), so I have been editing custom-reference.docx with LibreOffice
(currently 6.2.6.2 on MacOS 10.13).

All in all, I wonder whether it would be feasible to generate.docx
documents that are out of the box more correct, feature-rich, and
aesthetically pleasing (ok, I'll admit I'm biased a bit here: more
latex-like) that currently.

What I've noticed so far regarding the default output, in no particular
order:

-   no page numbers (can fix)

-   no numbered section headings (was able to fix the first level, but
    not levels 2 and up; note that my results did not look right to
    begin with in LibreOffice, Menu: "Styles" → "Manage Styles")

-   With a custom-reference.docx modified to number section headings,
    `# References {-}` came out numbered, too; i.e., `{-}` was ignored.
    (A proper fix would probably require pandoc to attach a docx style
    like "Heading (unnumbered) 1" to such headings.)

-   uses default Microsoft fonts (could probably be fixed easily using a
    custom-reference.docx, but why doesn't pandoc use something more
    neutral, such as a Times/Helvetica combo - or at least something
    else that doesn't scream "I'm a Word document" straight away)?

-   LibreOffice displays some pandoc docx tables too wide (reported
    before: https://github.com/jgm/pandoc/issues/2576). For me, this
    happens when using simple tables (multiline tables come out ok).

-   With `--toc`, an empty table of contents (ok, can be fixed in LO via
    "Tools" → "Update" → "Update All"); and with a custom-reference.docx
    modified to number section headings, the toc title, again, is
    numbered.

So, my questions:

-   Has anyone been able to come up with a custom-reference.docx that
    solves some or all of these issues, and would be willing to share
    it, or would be interested in collaborating in order to develop one?

-   Any tips or tricks on editing a custom-reference.docx with LO (or
    with a plain text editor, for that matter)?

-   Any ideas on how to generate/update the table of contents without
    user interaction?

    -   I've seen this:https://ask.libreoffice.org/en/question/46586/how-to-automatically-update-indices-in-headless-mode/,
        and spent about an hour on it, but couldn't get it to work.

-   Any ideas on how to generate lists of tables and figures?

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