Hey LuxXeon, I looked at the Animation Layers add-on you mentioned, looks like what I expected an NLA system to do. Blender's NLA system seems clunky or counterintuitive, I hope blender gets this functionality soon.
I did some more animating to my little animation and I think it is getting better because I can really feel the heaviness of the ball he carries which is a good sign. Here is the animation.