Do you want evergreens for your stairs? You can get smallish golden or blue-ish arbovitaes. Little Heath Pieris Japonica is variegated, evergreen, around the right height and flowers. Here, the new growth is red, but in the winter, you'll probably have the green leaves with white edges.

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You can do dwarf rhodos, too. They're evergreen and flower beautifully, usually in the spring. ,

Something evergreen like the pieris japonica suggested by @Sigrid will look great year-round. I have good luck also with pieris japonica ”cavatineCatarina”, boxwoods and ilex glabra ”gem box”.

Deer (high #) in my area browse coneflower and hydrangea. They devour arbovitae, azaela, yews and rhododendron. Your area may be different. Check with a local nursery about recommended plant material and plants to avoid in your area.

The perennials you mention are all beautiful but either the stair area will be bare during winter (if you trim them down) or you will be looking at dead stalks all winter in a very prominent spot in the front of your house.

I suggest a two foot high split rail or white picket fence across the front and then put your plantings in front of it. The fence would help distract from the things behind, it even in the winter. In addition to the previously mentioned plants, you could also try some peonies, which grow very well in the Midwest and have a bushy form in spring and summer. Of course, in the winter they will disappear like many other things. There are also some bushy evergreen forms of euonymus that have variegated leaves. Small hydrangeas like 'Bobo' hold their faded flowers through the winter and so have year round presence in the garden. Even If you had things like this, I would still mix them in with a few low growing evergreens such as boxwoods or densiformis yews. If you want to grow rhodos or azaleas, get your soil tested first. Unless you are in a pocket of well draining acidic soil, they will struggle.

The current plantings look too close to the steps and could catch clothing. I agree about moving them further out and the picket fence is a good idea as a backdrop for annuals and be pretty in the dormant season. Add stepping stones and a birdbath to complete the vignette.

Oops I'm looking at the steps not the windows.

I found this:

To keep your bird bath water safe from potential bird flu contamination, prioritize regular cleaning with a 10% bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water), rinsing thoroughly, and ensuring the bath is completely air-dried before refilling with fresh water. Changing the water frequently, at least every other day, and removing any debris or droppings can also help. Gloves: Wear disposable gloves when cleaning the bird bath and washing hands thoroughly afterwards.