What's the best workflow for non-Game character animation, say, for film and video?

Drop the clients. You may incorrectly think that cheapskates are worth retaining for whatever reason.
They aren’t.
Not only that, they are detrimental to the community as a whole, scamming people of their personal time in order to accomplish what they should actually be paying market price for.
When they say they can get it done cheaper tell them: good luck.
And when they come back tell them: I won’t work with you anymore, you aren’t the type of client our industry needs. What’s that? You are? My price is $300 an hour if you are.
but thats double before? Correct, because I have to deal with you.