Over-pruning it should make it floppy - just the opposite. If the flower heads are too heavy for the stem to support, you can cut them back so they flop less or just accept they'll flop.
I've got a ton of different kids of hydrangeas and have no problem cutting back those that get large in order to keep them at a manageable size and to shape them they way I want (one, in particular, intrudes on a path if I don't keep it cut back. Another would grow over the HVAC unit outside).
I've never heard of anyone 'dividing' the root ball of a hydrangea. It's just not that kind of a plant. I've propagated them by taking cuttings.....