What should I do differently?
I've been thinking about your question since this post went up. I'm always a little hesitant to give advice to someone who is approaching their trip in a way different from my usual approach, but here goes...
I think one thing to do is to figure out how Slovenia fits into your overall trip. It seems like Slovenia is your chance for mountain grandeur, so maybe that's a good place to focus your time, along with some time in Ljubljana, which is a great city.
I agree with Lane that more than one base would be ideal and if you stick with your current 6-night plan for the country, something like jrdmcbroom's point-to-point travel plan would be something to consider.
I would also suggest considering how getting in and out of the country impacts your itinerary, too. You don't mention how you are planning to travel between countries. If you are arriving from Vienna by train, entry at Bled works as well as entry at Ljubljana. Heck, even if you are arriving at the airport, going to Bled is as easy as going to Ljublana.
You currently appear to be planning to exit Slovenia from Ljubljana to go to Split, which is a super long travel day, Ljubljana to Plitvice Lakes makes more sense geographically. You could catch a train to Zagreb and pick up a rental car there and then make the drive to Plitvice Lakes, doing the recommended afternoon/morning visit to try to minimize visiting the park at its most crowded times. Then you could move on from there without back-tracking (Krka National Park, Split, Dubrovnik).
So... maybe it makes sense to start at Bled and end at Ljubljana?
As for Piran, it's a cute town on the Adriatic Sea. I love it, but I don't know that it adds that much to a trip that includes other towns/cities on the Adriatic Sea. Given your plans for Croatia, I would probably skip it, especially if you are not planning to spend the night there; it's more atmospheric in the late afternoon/evening.