Greetings @PresumptivePanda. I appreciate You taking time-out to view and comment on my posts. It definitely helps to keeps the UE Forums alive. I’ll be posting all sorts of goodies I’m working on in this specific thread. Some exclusive.
External inspirations Fuel my imagination 
From Interactive Games with Soldiers battling Space Creatures: Starship Troopers, Silica, Hell Divers, and Earth Defense Force. To Films with Soldiers battling Space Creatures: Edge of Tomorrow and Future War.
The design for Spacebugs is work in progress. It is driven by a few Kitbashing design pillars that I can achieve as a solo dev with my programming skills:
- Use UE Skeleton as base skeletal structure, and modularly add on with Blueprints.
- Use Design-time / Run-time Semi-Procedural construction/deconstruction Subsystems.
- Use Run-time Semi-Procedural Animation Subsystems.
- Use Unique Meshes that be manipulated at Runtime.
- Use Parametrized PBR Materials that be manipulated at Runtime.
- Use Marketplace Assets.