Is this as good as it gets?

So I've been printing now for a couple of weeks, and the models here are basically tests, my way of learning the best techniques for 3D printing with a Solidoodle.

I plan on using the printer to create a little bit of everything from small mechanical models which I'll be primarily designing myself in Solidworks, to printing fun things like characters from games and movies, toys if you will.

These first few tries are my way of trying to find out what works, what doesn't what the best software is etc.  I'm finding that while Slic3r works fine for most mechanical drawings, it doesn't do such a good job with small complicated things, or organic looking ones. 

On the other hand I found that KiSSlicer is capable of producing very good output that closely approxiamtes the actual model.  The problem with KiSSlicer is that it doesn't have any "tweaked" Solidoodle settings, and it will probably take quite a bit of experimenting until I find the best setup.

Additionally I found that using supports is more painful than not using them.  KiSSlicer produced scaffolding like supports are nearly impossible to remove, while Slic3r nearly envelops the model in thin layers that you almost can't tell there's a model inside there somewhere. 

So what is the solution? 

Get creative with model cutting, and positioning.  You can cut a model in a few pieces that when laid flat on the platform will not require almost any support, it's only a matter of figuring out how to do it.  I needed to start thinking like the guys that design model kits.  All model kit parts were design to be injection molded as flat pieces that do not require undercuts or side holes, because tooling for such parts can get expensive, so everything is laid mostly flat,

I found that some parts of a model may print better in one direction (vertically), while others look better when laid horizontally.  Below there are two examples of the same model printed this way.  One of the Team Fortress Demomans was printed by slicing the model at the waist then printing the 2 halves upright.  The problem with that was shifting, which got worse as the vertical height increased.  The reason for this I think was flex in the model itself due to the relatively thin protrusions (the legs).

Printing the model by slicing it longitudinally produced different results.  Not much layer shifting but, due to my choice of sparse infill, the top layer on the back of the model did not have enough support to produce a solid top layer and I ended up with a hole.  Take a look at the 2 models side by side.  The feet on the vertically printed model wereall mangled up on the original print, so I had to print them separately, then I glued them on.

I also tried printed "The Heavy" from Team Fortress, which I documented in another thread.  Some of you wandered where his favorite gun, Sasha,  was...  Here she is!!

Here are is a shot of the heavy with Sasha (before cleaning) and Demoman.

So the big question:

Is this the best kind of output I should expect, or can it get better?  What techniques have you found that can yield better, cleaner output.  I need all the feedback you can give me.

Thanks.