re: Are there downsides to coilovers?

You can get coilovers in whatever compression you want. Softer would be better for an everyday driver but for that I'd just get some Eibach springs and be done. Unless you want full customization coilovers are overkill.

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I’ve got over 160k miles on the original springs and shocks, thinking of replacing them at some point. Is swapping the factory setup for coilovers legit on a stock sedan? Will it ride like shite?

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The main pro for quality coilovers is adjustability and the main con for coilovers is adjustability. Getting them right requires a solid understanding of chassis dynamics.

The best option is to find a tuner that can satisfy your needs or at least get information from one of the parts selling tuners like Turner Motorsports who are great with BMWs.

As for coilovers that tend to work well for BMWs Moton is probably the best but have a price to match. Then Bilstein Clubsport that I run on my M3. Next is Ohlins and AST. One of the best bangs for buck on a street driver BMW is the venerable Bilstein PSS10. Arguably the best low budget option would be BC Racing. ISC is considered another good budget option but I have zero experience with them.

In general the more performance benefit you get the stiffer the ride will be. Tires will do more for most street cars than coilovers will in terms of performance. My suggestion is that unless or until you max out performance with tires (balancing the low temps in your area) they are always a better option before straying from the stock suspension on a car that already handles pretty well.