We use this to some extent already; some units having multiple types of swords or spears for instance.

One thing we won't do is mixing different weapon types. That is you won't see an ax and sword short in the same unit because those two weapons were wielded very differently which is not possible to model if you have only one set of animations to go with *all* soldiers in the unit. (You'd get weird effects of some axeman trying to prod his opponent with his ax, or a short swords being wielded as if they were axes; in other words: ridiculous.) Plus creating satisfactory statting rules becomes a lot more difficult this way.