Too much sun is... too much sun ! (how fight harsh light)

Hello,

Where i live, outdoor, the light is ideal only very short amount of time in the morning and the evening.

If i take a shoot of someone during daylight i have to burn the sky (or the ground like road or rock ground) to get face details.

I tried correcting with software and in most of the case you pay a certain price (adding noise for exemple) to get to something better.
I tried polarizer... it helps yes but that's not it.

I know there are graduated filters. But last time i play with that it was in the early 80s having fun with my Cokin system on my OM-1 but certainly not trying to make a realistic picture.

What will you do ?
Is graduated filters the solution or there is something else i should do ?