I’ve done the curtesy of going through the editor to verify my claims and even found some additional quirks. No, the facial polycount is not in fact higher. It is the same model, and the reason I noted differences in texture presentation, is because it gives the wrong impression to an untrained eye. Below you will see the actual wireframe from the actual in-game model.
And here, a comparison of the in-game’s model’s feet with the image from Shih-Kai Chang showing the same wireframe. Trust me, these ARE the exact same models. I would give you less messy examples, but it easier to see in the editor than to present it due to overlapping lines. You noted the faces, and I tried to give you a clear view, and though difficult, you can quite clearly see this is the same model. These are all of the models from which Shih-Kai Chang released a wireframe version from, so I think it is safe to say that the rest are the same as well.
I’ve even pulled up some other stuff. Below, we have that model riding a horse, and its independent form. You can tell one has a higher texture resolution than the other, it becomes particularly clear by his bracer and other details. I tried seeing if there is a significant difference in the detail by the texture file or by some in-engine compression by having at their UV resolution. To my eyes, they seem quite similar, so I’m almost tempted to say that both have access to the exact same texture file, but they clearly have different resolutions. So perhaps Horsemen type units simply compress the texture files in-game. Though, that would suggest that regular infantry already have access to higher quality textures but are not utilized even in settings, so it is conjecture on my part.
Anyway, for a final piece observation, here we have the Varangian Guard with the same UV pattern that demonstrates the resolution. For those unfamiliar, more dense = more resolution. Since the Shield and weapon are called and are separate from the unit itself, it has its own material (same with horses, allowing for the reusing of assets). What this shows though, and not to nitpick on the developers or the 3D artist themselves, is that even against an already low resolution shield, the unit themselves go beyond that. The point being that the texture resolution was really low for units in AoE4, again, for technical reasons.
