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when I think about practical future combat mechs I think quads and sixes as vehicles equivalents. the only bipeds I see are exoskeleton based battle armor.
seconded, the bipedal mech puts too much weight on too little surface, has too much silhouette( target like a barn-door) and is more complicated to balance, the weight and silhouette-issues are not as big with battle armor, and it is easier to use the wearers sense of balance.
quads and sixes are lower and distribute weight on more surface, I would think that octos are even better than sixes.
I want to ad that multi-legged vehicles could be constructed with a "sled-like" underbelly, on soft snow and mud they could glide on their bellies, pushing themselves forward with their legs. hard to imagine that with a biped.
octos (and quads) might also be constructed amphibious, with "flippers" on their legs. octos (and quads) because 4(2) legs would stroke up, the others would stroke down, without creating any momentum of tilt or lift. the flippers might also act as snowshoes.