It's been a while since I've dealt with the blindingly colored units of vanilla and mods close to it, or the arguably weaker gameplay, but it's certainly an option.
Roleplaying is something players do within the confines of the rules and limitations of whatever game they happen to be playing. If players believe that mod x or y offer them better options for roleplaying, or are even just more fun there's nothing wrong with that.
Last game we had people who hated the vanilla Byzantine color scheme so much that it would break all sense of verisimilitude for them. Whether SS changed that was a big part in whether anyone was willing to play that faction.
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