Just wondering if it's possible to add an extra AI package to NPC enemies so that when attacked, they have a chance to instead quickly loot weapons/armour from their surrounding area before charging into battle?
This would really make encounters more dynamic.

I can see that it's possible to make an aquire AI package, and that it could be put into the DefaultMasterPackageList, but I'm not sure how to put all the pieces together.

Can anyone help?

I managed it with Oblivion, mainly to add random NPC adventurers into dungeons, who would wander about looting/killing stuff.

So maybe you'd first run a http://www.creationkit.com/Procedure_Find to specify what kinds of things they should search for, simultaneous with a Wait procedure of very short duration. Then run the Acquire procedure on the ObjectList that results. Then begin normal combat.

If this is for a specific encounter you could probably script a short event where they run around to the equipment when they spot the player. From there you would move the items to the NPC's inventory as they hit spoecific triggers. They should equip it if the AI deems it better than their current equipment I believe.