If you generally position the polys and arrange the polygon groups the same as your braid model you don't have to redo the whole rig by hand, you can use the braid rig as a "donor" rig.  Just import the OBJ and in the Setup room, load the CR2 for the braid, and it will load the bones in exactly the same place.  Incidentally this is how you do most of the rigging for conforming clothes, with a donor rig.

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