Now, this is just a drawing, it isn't representing a node set-up a real pathfinding has created. Just portrays the kind of path pathfinding will create: hugging the walls. Very unnatural.
Red Circle = start
Blue Circle = end
Cyan circles = nodes
Red lines = ray cast that encounters a wall between last successful path and node check.
Yellow line = when above check encounters wall, designate previous node as optimal path and the last path chosen.
Like I said, I've dabbled very little in pathfinding, but couldn't this work?