One thing I missed during the reddit era was user avatars. I always found it much easier to recognize posters this way. The lack of avatars next to a post made that whole era feel faceless. I’m glad avatars are included in profiles, and I think they should be brought back into the main UI.
I currently use Connect on Android, which puts a small (10x10px approx) avatar next to names. It would be cool to have an option to enlarge this, but it seems like a step forward.
I think the profile pictures are fine. They technically work the same. You can always make your own avatar somewhere and make it your pfp.