I found a regular 12V eBay LED strip to be way to bright when on full power. Especially if you can directly view the LED's.
I haven't looked in a while, but the last time I did, a lot of the basic LED strips come w/a small remote that allows you to set color and level...that's what I was thinking here. But maybe that's not as common as before?
I was thinking more of a simple white led strip. I don't know how the cheap remotes will survive a power outage.
To me, this isn't something that needs to be complex or part of your automation. This just needs to be reliable. I have a wired IR sensor at the top of the stairs pointing down the stairs. I have a white led strip, just below the handrail. The instant your toe gets over the first step at the top of the stairs, the LEDs come on. At the bottom of the stairs, the instant you put a foot out, the LEDs come on. They automatically shut off within 5 seconds when there is no longer any movement. It was about $12 for the PIR and less than $10 for the LED strip. This is something I could not see any value in automating.
I agree that automation is likely overkill. I only mentioned the Zooz RGB controller becasue my mindset was in Hubitat.
I would recommend something like this manual PWM controller
With a strip of LEDs and a wall wart. I would leave them on all the time.
This works great for us. We can see the lights glow from 10 feet away so we know where the stairs begin.
Another dumb option. 
These exact ones at the link aren't available atm, but the style works well for our basement closet.
Big adhesive base, rechargeable, motion activated (aim adjustable), or you can switch them to always on if you want to pop them off for flashlight duty.
I do hope you aren't calling me a dumb option.
You'll need to get in line behind me. I claim first dumberer.
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