Tower vs Bookshelf. The baffle width is the biggest thing, so bass is one issue. Second normally a narrow baffle no matter the design of the wider baffles has the ability to collect less distortion on the baffle face and driver face. Narrow is better and phase plugs help even more on a cone speaker.
Bass reinforcement with a decent stand mount is pretty easy. Beard the stand. Simple heavy cardboard will add a lot of bass. From the bottom of the speaker to the floor, the wider the beard the more bass it collects..
Position the speakers every where, I do.. I like speakers pretty far apart compared to most and I like the long wall as the back wall, usually. Nothing but speaker typed is written in stone for me.. Small planars and ribbons for the monitors.
Regards