I kind of always liked the idea of them being glowing orbs - something more alien and fantastical about it.
You consume the item, you're not literally eating the fairy :p
In the actual battles, all fairies are displayed as the glowing orbs as well. This is more evident in the 3DS version, where it doesn't do the close-up when using their big power like the Switch version does, but it's in both.There are different kind of fairies, hyrule warrior has them all represented, they added these fairies you can get and they are humanlike, but there are also the navi type, those that heal you.
Basically Navi is a glowing orb with wings
Impa looks way cooler here.For what it's worth, there's this early OoT art which depicts what is presumably Navi and she looks like a Hanna Barbera character
Whether you factor this into your Orb vs. Tiny Person opinion depends on whether you take it as canon
Those human fairies are all orbs of light outside of the my fairy menu in the 3DS version, and in the switch version they are orbs of light while in bottles.There are different kind of fairies, hyrule warrior has them all represented, they added these fairies you can get and they are humanlike, but there are also the navi type, those that heal you.
Basically Navi is a glowing orb with wings
I like them. wouldn't mind more stuff like it from the Great Fairies. I also really like the Great Fairies from Four Sword. They have such a nice clean and elegant design.I'm sure they are supposed to bet tiny winged women that glow. What I don't get is why great fairies are so weird looking in Wind Waker:
And the Fairy Queen is even worse: