I think you're right that we'd need to see it in-game to really judge, but this version definitely looks better to me. Especially around the bottom of the legs, the shape is a lot more defined.
Also, in terms of sizes, I'm using 512x512 just for a wall texture, so I suspect the soldiers could even use a 1024x1024 texture in the battlescape. Would need to talk to the people who know these things, though.