3ds has the handy skinwrap modifier that allows you to quickly transfer bones/weights from one mesh to another similar mesh (generally same size and shape). Depending on how close the new mesh is to the original providing the weights, your subsequent work with weight painting/adjustments may be modest or virtually unneeded. Is there anything like that for blender? I really would like to avoid re-inventing the wheel on many character models by having to hand-paint them every time and instead copy over weights (same skeleton) from a working model.
Weight PaintingVertex group weights can now be transferred from one object to another, even if they have a different topology. This can be useful for transferring weights between meshes of different resolutions or shapes. TheTransfer Weights tool will look for the nearest face or vertex and find the corresponding weight on the other mesh. Weights can be overwritten or added together. The latter can be used as a tool to paint weights from nearby mesh shapes.Weight painting now also has a “Limit Weights” tool to restrict the number of vertex groups per vertex, for exporting to game engines that have a fixed limit. (r51217)
I think this is what you are looking for. Someone who knows better than I may be able to help further