D&d Phandelver and Below Hc

I have played "Lost Mine of Phandelver" several times as a player and as a DM. it is a classical, yet at times pretty deadly adventure (Thundertree, am I right?) So I was pretty hyped when Phandelver and below was announced. If you are the DM don't run this out of the box. The differences between the two modules are so stark that they feel like they were frankensteined together. and with the exception of the people of Phandalin there is no common thread between the two. Just as an example the campaign goes from a more medieval fantasy setting that is a bit more grounded in reality to eldritch abomintions with hints of body horror. The horror can sometimes fall a bit flat. My recommendations for the DM first include Dragons of Ice Spire Peak from the Essentials Kit with this campaign. Second of all if you want advice on how to run cosmic and body horror you can read up on that in "Van Richten Guide to Ravenloft". Last of all: maybe have the bad guys from "Lost Mine" re-appear. This will definitely give you a bit more of a solid plot thread. My last gripe with this module is that the second half is VERY heavy on dungeon crawling. It's not as bad a Princes of the Apocalypse or Dungeon of the Mad Mage but plot and roleplay take a bit more of a backseat. With a bit of work this campaign has loads of potential. If you are not willing to do so this is not your module.