"I always thought why their hands are so weird?"Not Sure really, i use the same sprites , there in the same order so im not sure WHY they look a little weird. Tonight i may boot up the original and just double check how a Hand Hangs in the original compared to these.
As for Slim girls ,i sure will , they require special leg and arm sprites ( which is what made the Civ girls such a pain to make ) as the MAN ones need to be thinned out. Plus some of us like our girls a little chunky
HERE is a original X-com agent, it looks the same to me, maybe your just use to seeing them with weapons in there hands
Also first look at Blue Gang