You can easily replace the bulbs with much brighter ones at a good price available on Amazon. Street legal and way way brighter you'll love them but some people will think you have your brights on when you don't. You mentioned the L shaped shadow? That might be by design to avoid direct light into the face of oncoming cars. I have a E350 Mercedes and a Lincoln and both have that built into the headlights as a safety feature.
__________________
|