Seems to me Larian actually got elves and half-elves confused at a point and just went with it. The half-elves are supposedly of elf-human heritage, yet look quite fey - whereas the elves somehow has adopted distinct human ethnic traits. This is exacerbated by the grotesquely masculine looks (apart from the pouting duck face lips) of the elf male models. Bioware uglified their elves for DA, no need to follow their example at all.
