If you just want to see your cool character walk and be done with it, maybe you could find some semi automated stuff, i don't know. But if you really wanna learn to animate I would forget about any automated stuff and do it the hard way That means a little IK for the feet and a lot of hard FK workfor the zillions of other joints I found it really frustrating work at first, actually i still find it really hard, but the result just look so much better. The automated solutions mostly look.. well automated! I think it's really worth taking the long way!

Maybe more oppinion that you opted for, but that would be my respons.