Hello!! Thank you for the kind words!
Playing with a game master is something I've done plenty, and I'd definitely recommend it if that's what works for your group. A good in-between would maybe be keeping the Pillars open for anyone to use, but primarily still used by a GM.
As with a lot of things in the game, I like to leave meanings up to interpretation. The idea of "stopping what's coming" ties to the sense of dread from The Doom pillar, but it's not necessarily always directly tied to it. All that line really implies is that it's tied to the overall mystery.
The specifics of what you're trying to do with the move is what matters though. If you are searching a crime scene, Look for Answers could for sure work, but you could also have a pillar make a move (Like The Enigma's "Reveal the future, subtly or directly"). Questioning a suspect also works for Look for Answers, but you could also Manipulate Someone.
I hope that helps!