Atleast monk doesn't have the awkward Ninja run- I'd have liked to choose between the way the player holds their weapons while they run - on Thief, player holds daggers differently with 1 blade close to them, tucked almost & the other lower which is good in my opinion BUT then on ninja, they go full naruto mong. An option would have been nice.
I even hate most of the the BRD animations when they attack- the way they hold a bow for one, whoever designed it has never seen someone shoot a bow or hold a bow.
Same with DRK; the way they hold their greatsword- talk about really sore elbows--- Just the stance alone needs a fix, to have the player hold the greatsword by their side as it would be with that kind of weight.

But to add to what you're saying, Monk skills are blah looking from seeing them- some of them are just, forgettable at best. They don't need over-the top animations to look good; you can have something designed well without it being flashy, but it's SE we're talking- all flashy 1st, then quality tweaking much later--- Must like all of the unisex hairstyles, monk animations leave more to be desired.