I dislike hanging pendants in a kitchen. They just get in the way and get dusty. I prefer can lights. These are nice, but I would use them elsewhere, like in a smaller entry.

Those old mercury vapor lights are huge, heavy and operate HOT unless re-lamped. The size would distract one's eyes to them and become a focal point, distracting from the rest of the kitchen. They are just tooo big and gaudy, IMO Instead, I would go with a "UFO" LED fixture: https://www.ledlightingsupply.com/commercial-lighting/led-low-bay-lighting/wattage-changing-color-changing-ufo-led-low-bay These are the current replacements in gyms, etc. for the mercury vapor fixtures you have. Size-wise, they would be minimalist in a kitchen and, I think, complement rather than dominate the surroundings. They usually come painted white or black, but they could easily be repainted. Many vendors sell them. The model above has selectable wattage/lumens, but even at the low lumen setting (8,400!) I would connect these to a 0-10v wall dimmer and you would have totally adjustable light output, from low-level romantic up to dazzling brightness. https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-IP710-LFZ-Illumatech-Dimmer-Supplies/dp/B00BUZ6A4E I bought this dimmer new on eBay for ~$25. My experience: I removed 24 mercury vapor fixtures from our church gymnasium and replaced them with 100 watt, 15,000 lumen UFO LED fixtures, and wired all 24 new fixtures to a single0-10 volt dimmer. Really works nice!

I really like clear glass pendants much better than anything else because I like to see through them and have them be less prominent but to alleviate the glare issue, I used Edison bulbs. I searched high and low for ones with the spiral filament (so they are interesting to look at) that matched the Kelvin temperature of my cans (all 3500). Most of the Edison lights I found were 2700 which was going to be way too yellow against the cooler can lights. But I did finally find them. I don’t find the glare to be an issue at all. I don’t use the pendants that frequently—usually just if someone is sitting at the island having a late night snack or something.

IMO there's a lot visually going on in a small space. Have you considered simply changing the wattage of the bulbs in your ceiling downlights? To me that is the least espensive, easiest solution to gain more lighting. Select a PAR LED bulb for your downlights.