Inspired by Faster Melee Attacks by refsil, I set out to see if I could increase melee and unarmed attack speed at its core, the animations themselves. I originally intended to learn 3ds Max but after running into issues with getting it running, I figured out my own workflow using a combination of HKXPack and Notepad++.

Using HKXPack to unpack the .hkx files (animations) into .xml, I edited the .xml files with Notepad++ then packed them back into .hkx with HKXPack. After some testing, I was able to work out which variables I needed to adjust in order to speed up the animations without causing them to bug out.

I've included both the edited and unedited .xml files In case you want to mess around with the animation speeds yourself. Each attack animation annotation was multiplied by 0.7 and each block recoil animation annotation was multiplied by 0.6, resulting in faster animations and a more enjoyable melee and unarmed combat experience. I felt like these numbers were the best balance of faster animations and keeping them looking (mostly) believable, but feel free to tweak them to your liking.

Xbox Version: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/fallout4/mod-detail/4361027

Tools Used:
Archive2
Bethesda Archive Extractor
Calculator (Scientific mode)
HKXPack
Notepad++