Sideshore said..
I've tried the gong NFA 9'0" XS and I don't like how it surfs. You need to be in the tail if you want to make it turn.

The NFA can turn from the middle, as it is a kind of hybrid do-it-all shape between a retro and performance longboard.
You may want to switch to a thruster setup, with the center fin quite forward, or even better twin fins + trailer to enhance its turn-from-the-middle behavior.
On the opposite, a big single fin with or without side bites in the rear of the box will turn the dial towards retro, pivot turns.

Longboards that can noseride are designed for the rider to walk (cross-step!) from the nose to the tail and back. That's an essential part of the fun of longboarding.

If you want a long board that turns from the middle, you will have to get shapes with more rocker, but sacrifice glide, there is no free lunch. Guns have this kind of rocker, as they need control, not glide. Gong does not make them currently (people wanting a gun will get a custom Alley: the Zero is a design fro bigger waves, but still with a longboard feel), but for instance JL has the bombora and the stun gun.

The NFA XS is narrow, so not as stable as wider boards by design.
The NFA 8'0" will have the same feel, as it is a mini-longboard. It will turn a bit easier because it is shorter, but I wouid definitively advise you to get a a Karmen instead, a stable but easy to turn shape.
if you do not want to get on the tail, you will not like longboard shapes.

Sideshore said..
One doubt. you say in the first paragraph that the NFA 8 can turn from the middle with a particular fin configuration and in the last paragraph you say it has the same longboard feeling so it's not suitable to turn from the middle?.

My mistake. I though at first that you owned a NFA 9'0 XS, so I was giving advice to tweak it a bit.
I forgot to modify that advice once I realized you just tried one.

Basically, for noseriding you want the board to "lock" into the curl so you have a stable platform to walk to the nose.
So you definitely want to avoid any SUP with a longboard feel. Thus I won't advise the NFA 8'0".

The Mob has a wide tail and a quad setup, so you need to get back on the tail to drive it. But it has a modern feel, unlike a longboard, and the rad is more streamlined so it may be more spontaneous. But I only rode the Cool.
The Mob is designed to generate speed in weak and slow waves, so in faster and bigger waves, the tail will transmit a lot of wave power, that you will have to control by stepping on it.
I had to cut down the rear fins on my Mob to make it more lively without to have the foot on the tail.
The Mob paddles surprisingly well for its length, I guess the nose is pulled-in enough and with a bit of rocker so as not to plough in chop like a noserider.

From what you describe, the Karmen seems ideal for you. The modern, "pro", feel of the Alley, but with user-friendly stability, especially in chop.
It will be less dynamic in tigh-high waves than the Mob, though.