Thanks! And yeah, it's like this perfect storm of, "I know I'm supposed to simplify this, but which details do I toss out?" that seems almost insurmountable at first.
I think that's a big theme in art in general. You can look at master artists and recognize that their figures are essentially blobs of shape and color, but they're masterful blobs of shape and color.
Speaking of which, I really like your middle pic with the horse and foliage. I think it really boils down the essence of complex forms, which... in comics... is very important...