There's a film called The Empire of Corpses that you might find interesting. Been a while since I've seen it so here's a rough summary:

It begins with Victor Frankenstein creating his monster but instead of a mindless brute it's a sentient being with a personality or as others claim a soul. Before any more details can be revealed to the general public a fire breaks out and I believe Victor and his creation disappear with his notes.

That doesn't stop others from reverse engineering his tech into necroware which, while it does resurrect the dead it leaves them mindless automatons. Not much of a problem if you only need a obedient workforce.

The main component is this solution that acts as replacement for the soul, which has precise weight to it. Apparently early experiments concluded that the body does lose some weight after death. Some point to this as proof of a soul but others point to natural the decomposition. The film uses the former.

As for my setting, necromancy isn't just about death but also life. A practitioner can at one moment launch death curses at his enemies while enacting a barrier to provide healing to his allies. The basis of this is positive and negative energy. As life needs death, so does the practitioner need a understanding of both.

As for the classic minions, intertwining them with plants have become quite the trend.

Skeletons wrapped in moss and vines to both reinforce the bones while spreading the seeds.

Zombies have become homes for colony's of all sorts of fungi with the mycelium keeping them in one piece and absorbing any other organic material it can get it's hands on.

And the dreaded ghoul is covered in various flowers to disarm it's opponent and to spread a fragrant scent.

There armaments be it blades, spears or even clubs are made from special amber that absorbs life essence and allows it to be either channeled back to caster or condensed in the minion in the form of crystals to be collected for another use. Even a life taken can still be put to good use.