1. Preheat the oven to 450 °F.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
3. Toss butter cubes and shortening in the flour mix, then place the bowl in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Cut the butter and shortening into the flour mix until uniformly incorporated. Work for at most 2 minutes without returning the bowl to the freezer for 5 minutes before continuing — you want to keep the ingredients cold.
5. Once the fat has been well-distributed through the flour mix, add the shredded cheese, garlic powder, paprika, and cheddar powder (if used). Mix well.
6. Add the (cold!) buttermilk and stir just to distribute the liquid through the dry ingredients. Return to the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes.
7. In the bowl, fold the dough repeatedly until it comes together. Remove onto a lightly-floured surface and (as briefly as necessary) fold until you can form the dough into a 3/4" think disc.
8. Use a floured biscuit cutter to cut rounds and place on an ungreased baking sheet (you can use parchment if you want to avoid any mess). Form any scraps into loosely round shapes ("Franken-biscuits").
9. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes on the top rack of the oven until biscuits are golden brown.

While the biscuits are baking:

1. Melt the 3 tbsp of butter.
2. Add the herbs and garlic powder, mix well.
3. Return to heat briefly, then get a pastry brush!

When the biscuits are done baking:

1. Remove from the oven. Leave biscuits on the baking sheet for 2 minutes.
2. Brush the top of each biscuit with the seasoned melted butter. Allow the butter to soak into the biscuit before applying additional coats. Be sure to include some of the herbs with each basting, too.

You can certainly eat these as-is, or throw caution to the wind and slather each half with more butter.