I get that the second headsculpt is... interesting. But I honestly, really think that HT will make an adjustment here. It's been universally panned.
But all that aside - I can't wrap my head around the sudden spike in love for the SS version. Sure, it is probably the best SS release in years, but the quality is still SS. For $40 more you get a full second hesd, PERS, the probe droid, cloak, light up saber, swoosh effects, the wrist control gauntlet, and if you go through the right retailers, the hologram. On top of that, you're just going to have a better experience with the HT version out of the box, the paint alone will be light-years ahead.
Remind me again why you should go for the SS? The likeness that has equal but different imperfections to the HT ones? We're in stupid prices now anyway, so I'm honestly throwing that out of the door given the additional HT content. You want a HT Maul with nothing like the SS? It'd be the same price, which is too much for a barebones figure as we established with the SS version. You can probably sell the cloak alone for that difference if you care that much.
The only instance I would tread lightly would be if you already had a Maul.
I'm so happy that HT rendered the prosthetic aspect of the horns. Star Wars is all about that tangibility and pseudo lo-fi believability. Retaining that aspect instead of using creative liberty makes a better product, I think.