What ever you put in the front will be a vast improvement over the dual rate jobbies that are in there at present, the problem with emulators is there is no way back without acquiring another set of Damper Rods, and that will most likely mean another set of forks from eBay to retrieve them from.
My suspension is still on the firm side of plush, but that is the way I wanted it, with my daughter on the back it does soften the ride, but it still absolutely fine, just slightly softer.
I think I paid £118 for the Ohlin's Linears, but I have read on this forum guys who have put progressive in and been really really pleased with the ride saying stuff like the bike is more planted and also the harshness has gone.
I think with the Yamaha springs it is probably the second spring rate coming into play that tightens up quickly and causes the harshness, progressives should overcome that, because the rate changes progressively and not with a sudden step, unlike the Yamaha forks springs as they compress and hit the harder rate.
I know Graham on here had new springs fitted and he was convinced it completely focced his handling up, my guess is that they were not fitted very well.
With the damper rod suspension you are relying on the fork oil being pushed through a very small single hole (about 5mm) at a fast rate of knots as the forks compress rapidly after hitting a big bump, if the oil is to thick to pass through that hole quick enough to allow the forks to continue on their downward journey you get something called Hydro lock, which can feel as if the forks have bottomed out and really jarring your wrists and shoulders, but it is just that the oil can not pass through the damper hole quick enough and locks up the forks.
If you try the progressive springs don't use a to heavy fork oil because if you need to go heavier with a syringe and a piece of small bore piping (Fish Tank air line) you can draw a measured amount out and replace that with a heavier oil, untill you are happy with it.
Someone explained Hydro lock to me like this: If you have a child's water pistol and yank the trigger in as fast as you can the trigger will jam because the water cannot get out of the pin hole fast enough, = to thicker oil, best to start with a thinner oil and gradually draw a measured amount off and replace it with some thicker oil, if necessary.
Good luck, I will be interested to hear which way you go.
PS: I am no expert by any means I have learned and understood from guys on here who have been very helpful to me, but that is the I guess that is the way we all learn.