Kev, I understand where you're coming from, and please don't take this as anything other than constructive... but the example that you are showing is really not helping you prove any point.
The *only* detail that you've increased between the two images is the rivet detail, and IMO it's grossly overdone and unrealistic. Sure, it looks kinda cool, but that's not what we should be chasing, especially if we're hitting the boundaries of texture limits.
The places where higher resolution would really matter (like the crispness of the "XMM" and "RB8--" text) have been lost on both images. Look how blurry the text edges are; why have high-resolution blurriness?
The truth is that good skinning is not so much about the number of pixels you use, but what you do with the pixels you have. You can do amazing amounts of detail with limited real estate, it's just a matter of using good technique. And if the trade-off of having less area-per-part means we'll get every surface skinnable (no more mirroring finally!) then that is a HUGE bonus.
[edit: Think of it this way if it helps... you can put 16 old AH1 skins onto the area of a single AH2 skin. Sixteen! We will still make out in the deal, and AH2 skins will STILL be bigger than IL-2 skins.]
Just my 2 cents, FWIW.