ALT+E, S, V is paste as values.
ALT+E, S, T is paste formats.
ALT+E, S, F is paste formulas.
Those are the ones I use most frequently and these keystrokes are now deeply embedded in my muscle memory.
BTW, I would take slight issue with your expectations of what a human might expect... I actually think the standard CTRL+V paste does what 90% of Excel users expect.
[Edited to add: this is on Windows, didn't read your comment properly about your experience on a Mac. My apologies.]
This works until you try have to use Excel localized in languages other than English, since Microsoft thought having localized shortcuts was a good idea.
Those are the ones I use most frequently and these keystrokes are now deeply embedded in my muscle memory.
BTW, I would take slight issue with your expectations of what a human might expect... I actually think the standard CTRL+V paste does what 90% of Excel users expect.
[Edited to add: this is on Windows, didn't read your comment properly about your experience on a Mac. My apologies.]