Procedural animation x animatedSprite2D

I've been trying to create some "juice" animations for my 2D game, including the player, enemies, and overall game feel.

At first, I was using AnimatedSprite2D and doing frame-by-frame animations in Piskel, but it's pretty time-consuming and sometimes the results don't feel worth the effort.

Then I started experimenting with procedural/code-based animations. I basically "dismantled" my player and enemies into separate parts and started animating them through code.

Honestly, the results look pretty good so far, but some animations still feel a bit stiff, slow, or not very fluid.

So now I'm wondering:

Should I go back to animated sprites for certain animations, or should I keep improving the procedural setup?

Also, are there any tips or settings that help procedural animations feel more natural and responsive in Godot?