@Mind-Brain one approach is to use a Poseable Mesh Component, and associate it with a Skeletal Mesh. The Poseable Mesh component then allows use of the Get Bone Rotation and Set Bone Rotation nodes so the bone orientation can be get/set directly in a Blueprint.
This works well for me, but I would still prefer to use proper animation logic in an Animation Blueprint. If you find any insights from the RE tank controls post, or any other source, that would be awesome!