Definitely penny-mod them too (just remove the panels, tape washers under the edge of each metal contact point - it makes the pads way more responsive and more fun to use).
You can also buy a portable barre bar on amazon, that's what I use. Super stable and easy to stow away. A bar lets you maintain form on crossovers/jumps, and I recommend for anyone not super casual (playing 12+).
Lastly, if you are really serious, you can buy a replica DDR pad from China for about 4-5k, or a used real pad for similar. The arcade feel is much better than L-Tek, but you need a lot of space for these. [1]
1: https://www.globalsources.com/Dance-pad/DDR-metal-dance-pads...