Lusted:
According to this thread, pike units do seem to be getting better animations:
Quote Originally Posted by Caliban
You will be happy to know that the pike units in kingdoms have been overhauled, their speed has been increased and they now wield their weapons correctly and we have also re-balanced their stats.
So are you absolutely sure no other units get improved animations? The 2H Axe animation in particular seems to still need some work.
Quote Originally Posted by Gaius Terentius Varro
Melee upgrade gave +6 to attack in Vanilla?
According to Lusted himself, yes. [Reference]