I stopped by a Yami/Kawi dealer this past Saturday to check out the Z900RS. I also got the chance to see the XSR700. Sat on both and had similar impressions as you did. The 700 is a visual improvement over the 900, hiding that ugly electronics box on the front right and cleaning up a few other loose ends. I've also heard that while the 900 is a hooligan bike and struggles to keep both wheels on the road, which is loads of fun, the 700 is much more streetable and fun to wring out.
I never liked the cheap, Transformer-esque looks of the FZ07/09, but the XSR did tempt me for a while. In the end, I decided the neo-retro attempt at a throwback and the price were too much of a hurdle to jump over. The Z900RS is as close as another bike has come to clawing the CB1100 out of my hands, and even then, I've got other things I'd rather spend my money on (hello new used car in 2019, my 2006 Mazda3 has seen better days).