What's wrong with the triangle normals? Where did you get that information about the number of triangles? I didn't create a model with 1,000,000 polygons; it has around 7,000. And I sent test screenshots; I didn't change the number of triangles, so why are there fewer holes?
Finally, it's not possible to easily reduce the number of polygons without distorting the model. All these modifiers either work on simpler surfaces or with a small percentage. So, instead of 7,000, it will be 6,500. Is that optimization?
In Heroes of Might and Magic V, there is no detailed modeling of the earlobes, nostrils, corners of the mouth, or eyelids. In principle, this wasn't necessary for strategy games back then.