Hope this will help you some.

Should scope be that high? There's no real problem with any scope height as long as the objective bell (end toward muzzle) has a good 1/8" minimum clearance from barrel. 1/8" minimum is my preference, others may have their own personal preference for clearance.

Do you need a cheek riser? Once the scope has been adjusted for proper eye relief, and then you rest your cheek on stock in a comfortable position and you do not have a clear field of view, yes you will probably want a riser. If it's the Accufit stock, then they should make a riser piece that will connect right up and get you to the height you want.

Can you go with lower rings? Absolutely, as long as you have minimum clearance between objective bell and barrel, and you've got enough room to get your finger in ejection port to fiddle with cartridges if necessary. If you are wanting to change them, there are a lot of online resources for figuring out what ring height you need, just pay attention to the fact that some manufacturers spec their ring heights differently. Some use from top of base to bottom of ring. Others use top of base to middle of ring. I personally like Burris Signature because of their flexibility, but I also use Seekins. There are a lot of good ones out there. And don't discount those grand slams. A lot of people like them too.

You couldn't get consistent results? The first thing I would do is absolutely positively make sure the bases, ring base clamps, and ring tops are all installed and torqued correctly. I have a system that works for me, but if you follow the manufacturers instructions, you should be close. I mount all my screws using a removable type loctite or Vibratite and torque to spec with a Wheeler torque wrench. I even use loctite in the rings for high recoil stuff. There's several good web videos that show and extensive procedure for tweaking all the alignments of ring bottom to base and such that I recommend watching. Also, when I'm using 2-piece bases, I almost always go with Burris Signature rings for their ability to easily cancel out any alignment discrepancies between front and rear base. One piece bases don't tend to have as many issues in this respect. I know this is wordy, but so important for getting consistent results. Just be sure on this part before you change ammo.

You couldn't get consistent results? If you're shooting factory ammo, you may need to try some different ammo. Different barrel times can give different results on target, sometimes drastically different. Somewhere out there is some ammo that gives you a barrel time and velocity window that your rifle likes. If Savage has recommended any particular ammo for that rifle, I would start there.

Your scope seemed to "dim"? Hmmm. I would take it back out into a well lit area and look again. Dial the zoom down to minimum magnification first - maximum magnification by it's nature provides a darker field of view. If it is still dim, ensure that the ocular focus (check your scope manual) is correct for your vision. There are many good online videos that show how to setup and adjust a scope. If you have adjustable objective or a "side focus" parallax, I would get acquainted with it's purpose, watch some videos on it's adjustment, then set that up properly as well. If it's still dim, then you might want to try and determine if any of the internals have shifted around. Listen for rattling. Also gently tap on scope while looking through it and see if anything inside is shifting. Zoom in an out a few times and look for problems. I have destroyed several scopes in my lifetime and if a lens gets out of whack, it can appear as a dimming. Most of the time my scopes died from the mounts getting loose first and causing the scope to experience some harsh impact forces. Not saying that's the issue, but something to be aware of.

Sometimes it's the little mundane things that cause the biggest problems. Good luck to you.