Bioshock Infinite Research

I think Bioshock Infinite is a good example of a game with a large variety of animations. The main character Booker's companion, Elizabeth is a good example she has several animations that change based on her mood. General animations: idle, running, walking, pick locking, inspecting objects throwing objects to the main character. They also have many in-game set pieces and cut scenes.

I wont be using there methods, but the video shows the kind of animations they used.