It is the height of the strings above the top that is important. Just under 1/2" is fine for most guitars. Regarding saddle height: you only need about 10 degrees of string break angle across the saddle, and I prefer 45 degrees or less, just to assure longevity of the bridge. It sounds like you may have a thick bridge (they do vary). Martin uses three bridge thicknesses to adjust for variances in the neck angle and amount of top belly: 5/16 (thin), 11/32 (standard), and 3/8 (thick). While a 11/32 bridge and a 5/32 saddle may be considered normal, you get the same string height with a 3/8 bridge and a 1/8 saddle, or a 0.400 bridge and a 0.100 saddle.
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