As far as posers go, they never really have the same feeling as the actual puppets being performed. I've seen some terrible posers in my day most of them were Cookie Monster ones... oh, the overdone shagginess.
Seeing Walter with a puppeteer, if only in pictures, really gives the character a greater depth than just a stuffed animal standing around. That crease caused by knuckles DOES give it a nose like quality, really improving on the overall Sesame Street-ish shape.