This is a really good thread you make a lot of really great points.
But this game will be banned or censored if the reference suggestion you're going with here went ahead.
All the point you make about BG3s halflings are good, but this other game, that looks far far to close to a human child for the themes BG3 will put it in.
Try imagining the other game's halfling without the anime face...the face looks very childlike and is probably coloring your (it definitely colored my) age guess for the character.
I can't agree. The face is contributing, but it's still bad without it.