I've recently gotten back into lock-picking (the legal kind, where you try to break into your own house and find better locks). I bought a pick set back in college (about 8 years ago) and broke into my room on several occasions when I forgot my keys, or when a professor forgot their keys to a cabinet, I would usually render my services in exchange for them looking the other way.
I was holding a Master padlock in my hand a few days ago (one of the easiest to pick, by the way) and thought of a new, great (I think) way to implement a realistic lock picking mini-game using the 360 controller.

Some background: in using a standard lock pick set, there are two pieces: a tension rod (tension bar) and a pick (hook). While keeping a constant torque on the tension rod (in the correct direction), you insert the hook and make gentle prods at each pin in turn, trying to get them stuck above the barrel, which has rotated slightly, exposing a lip. If you push the tension rod too far:
1) the pins will not move, as there will be too much friction holding them against the side of the barrel, and
2) you could damage, bend or snap the tension rod.
Provided the tension rod has been torqued with about the right amount of tension, the pins will move freely until they slide above the barrel, where they reach the shear point and be held by the lip of the barrel that has been exposed. If tension is released, pins will fall. If all of the pins are at the shear point, the tension rod will usually "give" and move to open the lock.
I've been referencing this guide for help:
http://www.lockpickguide.com/

Similar to the Fallout 3 lock pick mini-game, you start out face-on to the barrel of the lock. You place the tension rod into the lock in a horizontal position (automatic). On the 360 controller, you then push the left stick to the same horizontal position (for the sake of argument, to the right). You then need to rotate downward until you think you have the appropriate tension against the lock. If you push it too far (a certain angle past the optimum, based on the difficulty of the lock), the rod breaks and you have to get another one. Here's the trick, though, you need to HOLD the left stick at the tension you have chosen, otherwise the tension rod will fall back to the horizontal position and any pins you have at the shear point will fall. Once you feel you have the correct tension, you press A and the camera rotates slightly to see the barrel, where you can see the pins.
The hook is placed on the first pin and you need to use the right stick to push the pin upward (only some of the way - none of this "flick the stick" that caused pins to fly to the top of the shaft in Oblivion - sorry, Bethesda... I still love your games) into the correct position, where the controller can jig subtly (as the pin "clicks" into position above the barrel). Not enough tension will cause the controller to not jig and the pin to fall again as you let your thumb off of the right stick (the pin will likely still rest ON the hook), whereas too much tension will cause the pins to become stuck (which may be too high or too low to reach the shear point).
To move to the next pin, you can use the L & R buttons or triggers, you can figure out which.

My thoughts on PC implementation as well as my thoughts as far as the programming of such a mini-game will be found in the next few posts I write, and I'll try to come here somewhat often to answer questions or clarify my extremely stream-of-consciousness narrative.

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT buy a pick set until you have read local statutes concerning lock picks.
In some states, you CAN be arrested simply for possession.
Buy picks ONLY if you intend to enjoy them as a non-criminal hobby.

Sounds pretty cool.

My idea for PC implementation for those without controllers would be that you would need to place the mouse at the appropriate tension and then hold down a button on the keyboard (A, for instance). Once you toggle views, the mouse would control the hook.

I should also mention that what I thought for the part where all pins are correctly aligned and the tension bar "gives" is that you can wiggle the tension bar within a couple of degrees to see if that will "encourage" some of the pins into alignment (if they are really close) or see if it will "give" by gently pushing the tension bar just a bit further (taking care not to snap it).

The difficulty of a particular lock can also be determined by a few things:
Age (the stiffness of the lock) can determine how far the tension bar can rotate the barrel until it will break, and
Size (the number of pins). I liked the Oblivion lock pick mini-game, but it always irked me that there were actually pins in the shafts of smaller locks that weren't being used. I understand it's for ease of programming, but if they were just removed, I think it would be just as easy. The programmers could then make locks of varying sizes, which may have only two pins or as many as five. With varying ages, they will also increase the variability in the types of locks gamers will face and we will have to adapt accordingly.

This may actually work better as a Fallout mini-game, since the locks' appearance would be easier to duplicate, but hey... The Dev Team is creating the Tamrielic inventions, so they can determine how fast the people and their locks have evolved.

As a mathematician, I've also thought about what "overshot" angle the Devs can allow and other mathematically-oriented items.
I was thinking that for the tension rod, an easier lock could allow something like 15- to 25-degrees of overshoot from the "correct" position before the barrel seizes up and doesn't allow the pins to move and 30- to 45-degrees of overshoot before breaking, while a harder lock would only allow about 10-degrees before seizing and 15-degrees before breaking.
It would be hard to control this mechanism, but it should be challenging and it should take time to master, or even get your first few locks successfully picked, keeping in mind that there is almost always another option: getting the key from the person holding it.

There could also be "wear" factors for the hooks, so you would have to get new ones every 300 pins or so, and tension rods could be found just about anywhere. There was a period of time where I used my knife for tension. There wasn't any chance of breaking it in real life, just of bending it slightly and wearing out the blade.