Looks better. It makes much more sense for them to wear a helmet.

To be clear, this doesn't affect the release version of the mod, only the latest GitHub branch?

Probably the best from your proposals. Otherwise you could go with Erythraean Sea city-states.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythraean_Sea

So, sometime this month, some changes in the base game's code have rendered the AI in Delenda Est neutered. The AI no longer builds the structures listed in petra/config.js and after a short while the civilian citizens they train stand idle at the Civic Center. These things don't happen with vanilla (I've play tested). I thought I kept DE's AI files up to date with all the recent changes, but perhaps there is something I overlooked or there's something with the new changes which negatively affect the mod. Anyone willing to take a look and see what they can find? https://github.com/JustusAvramenko/delenda_est     The AI in R28 works really well and is pretty deadly, so this is a post-R28 issue.