Jami3: no. Thought about doing it many times, but I don't really have time to construct a new level. Too bad really, the StreetFighter mod did this great thing for crowds -- just used 2D textures of them. I had one of those
'duh' why didn't I think of that!?" moments.
Way better solution than trying to fit 100+ smiths models in the room.
Zom-B: I've not seen it, but can't say I like the idea of speech bubbles. Audio would be much simpler. Otherwise yeah, what you're saying sounds good to me. Provided that: 1) there's time, 2) I get a mic, 3) the audio doesn't take up too much extra space (no point if it triples the size of the mod). But otherwise yeah, I'm all for embracing new gaming trends like commentaries, etc.