Yeah the lighting can definitely play havoc with the appearance of metallics for sure but I'd take a look at it anyway. It's really nice to do metallic as it feels like you are basically one coat and done but it does pay to at least add some deep shadows etc otherwise it can definitely look a bit flat. Apart from that it sounds like you have most of the things I said covered and it will look really good when finished.

The only thing you didn't mention is the purity seals which I also struggle to bother doing well but it does make quite a big difference. I found the two videos on the subject by Darren Latham (GW 'Eavy Metal painter and model designer) are worth a watch. One is on painting the seal and paper and one is on doing the text on the scrolls. He has some good small "why didn't I think of that" tips in there like mixing brown/black for a better text colour and placing the middle letter of the word you are trying to paint right in the centre of the scroll (in this case the N could be right under the aquilla). I wouldn't do all to his standards but he shows where to highlight etc and it helped me improve my scrolls quite a bit.