Finally some luck with the npc walking animations thanks to @Please Pick ඞ Name for fixing the base npc ragdoll and tips from @Laz on how to integrate the code from the robot better. It's not perfect yet and needs to be tuned to look more natural, but it's a step in the right direction.
Work can now start on redoing the AI to be smarter and more complex. This should open up the gameplay to much more interesting npc engagements.