On stock frames, the generality is that riders with long legs (and short torsos) need to show a lot of seat post. Riders with long arms can tolerate a lower handlebar because they can reach down farther.

Your bikes certainly don't look radical. The Surly setup actually looks a lot like the way I set up my Raleigh International in the early 1970s, but my arms and legs are long. We who are built this way have always set up our bikes like this.