I think your first and second both have elements that would be great if you could combine them. While i love the separation between the lighter half tone and the darker area in the one on the right, your shadow area feels a little less clear and almost looks like one value and you kind of lose the core shadow. The darker half tone ends up looking like it should be part of the shadow value. I think you did a great job of creating those hard edges between values in the one on the left. I'm wondering if maybe you are starting out too dark in your shadows and then don't have a lot of room to darken them? Maybe try starting a shade or two lighter than you think you need to and building them up a little more gradually.