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I've seen games go as low as 3-frames for walkcycles. 1=standing, 2=left foot out, right back, 3=right foot out, left back. The frame order would play like 1,2,1,3...
But you're right, secondary motion (like on cloth and hair) can definitely help give the animation the illusion of fluidity. The trick is to have them move in very small increments, in contrast to the larger change in positon of the legs from frame to frame.