I agree. I think the main Perl workhorse modules that provide the best benefit for me are, in order:
DBIx::Class
Kavorka / Function::Parameters / Method::Signatures (take your pick)
Moose / Moo (or use Moops and get Kavorka above built in!)
Mojolicious
Notable mention: Path::Tiny (and Try::Tiny, but everyone should know that one).
It's taken me awhile to find the happy medium where I'm not sticking too much in DBIC ResultSet methods, but being able to define complex search methods that chain is awesome:
my $rs = Schema->resultset("Foo")->unprocessed->rows(100)->order_by([-desc=>'time']);
$rs = $rs->for_user($user) if $user;
$rs = $rs->recent_entries; # Limit to the last week
Makes my life much better, and makes it so much easier to change me schema as needed.