Driven Key Skeleton
This is an example of using extra "Driven Key" bones in a Maya skeleton, and the comparison of their benefits. On the left is a standard skeleton with no helper bones, and on the right, my improved skeleton with improved deformations.
During LA Noire we used a specific Driven Key skeleton for complex motions, animation assistance and corrections. For Project WOTO, I dropped the extra bone count from 56 to merely 18, not only holding the same deformations, but improving them greatly as well.