So DND has this weird AC concept, which is well, it is what it is I guess.
That means a high AC, be it from evasion, swiftness or pure protection (like a thick steel plate) is in essence the same. This seems to lead to the notion that doing an "attack roll" that does not succeed is a "miss".
This "miss" is interpreted by the animators as a character that dodges out of the way.
However, I feel that this is kind of boring and I never get the feeling of a "mighty warrior" standing in battle, as throughout the whole game all I ever see is a "dodging" plated knight.
I think the animators should also interprete the "missed" attack as more than just a dodge. It is a rule indicator for a hit that did not do damage. This can have various "feels" to it.
So for a heavy armor, every time a character gets hit, there is a random roll in the background what animations gets picked.
Sometimes that would be a dodge.
Sometimes that would be a hit on the armor bouncing off with a metal noise.
And if the character holds a shield, sometimes it is a shield block, with a BUMP noise.
The bigger the armor, the more the chances are the armor deflect animation is played, and the lighter the armor, the higher the chance a dodge animation is played.
I think this is a subtle thing that would add a lot of atmosphere to the combat visuals.
just my 2 cents,
cheers