I liked the one you had on your avatar you used for your game dev account during... August(?) 2023 better.
Sorry for doing a poor job explaining this without the proper terms: The issue for me is when a 'simple and flat' style is upgraded by just a little bit. The eyes got shading but no other part did. A lot of effort was but into limbs and digits that ended up still looking abstract. It's likely related to the 'uncanny valley' effect. I like it either on the levels of "gets the point across" 'or' drawn with highlights, shading, shapes, anatomy, perspective, etc. in mind. The 'intermediate steps' look worse to me.
Or maybe I just prefer art that looks quick and dirty. I played 'Kingdom of Loathing' for years, after all... ;)
I hope this helps somewhat.
Quest
Just quickly looking back on your older art, I think, Yeah, you definitely have improved. Things feel a lot more animated and the little shadows go a long way. What's nice though is that you've maintained a fairly consistent style, and I think it looks great!