I have a feeling the character models and animations are for the most part the fault of the game engine rather than the artists. I say this because I, uh, "know someone" whose 3D character modeling reel was more impressive than anything seen in the Bethesda games (Fallout 3 included) and he was kind of blown off when he applied for a job there. Said someone is currently in LA working for a major 3D/SFX company doing stuff for feature films and the like.
Could be entirely wrong, but this has made me wonder.
And I swear I am not that someone.