I don't know about you, but I think this one looks pretty fantastic http://codepen.io/jshawl/pen/IFxBK. Depends on the aesthetic of the website though.
I don't care how beautiful they look. As a user, I just don't like them. For example, Mega or Blogspot's animations are very nice, but I just get annoyed when I see them. And I don't think I'm alone.
I agree. I can imagine certain scenarios where they'd be necessary though.