Wonder if this would work while being a Druid and Wild Shaped.

I would say, almost the same rules as those for spells apply, meaning, you can activate the shield and it remains animated even if you transform, for up to 1 min, or until you are incapacitated:

You can't cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your beast form. Transforming doesn't break your concentration on a spell you've already cast, however, or prevent you from taking actions that are part of a spell that you've already cast.

If you wish to activate it after you have transformed, your form needs to be able to speak for you to use a bonus action speaking its command word.

Unless you make the command word a roar or a sound of an animal you take the shape of most?

:D

Yeah, sorry I was assuming you speak the command word before transforming unless you're high enough to where you can cast your druid spells while in Wild Shape form.

How would this interact with the Cleric's/Paladin's use of a Shield as their Holy Symbol for spell casting?  Would you, then, be able to wield a 2 hand weapon and still cast spells?

Good question. I would like to know too. 

How would this interact with the Cleric's/Paladin's use of a Shield as their Holy Symbol for spell casting?  Would you, then, be able to wield a 2 hand weapon and still cast spells?

 Short answer: no. You need to be holding the shield to use the holy symbol on it. If you want to be able to wield a two-handed weapon and still cast spells, you should see if you can get a ruby of the war mage.

See the Sage Advice Compendium: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/sac/sage-advice-compendium#Spellcasting

What’s the amount of interaction needed to use a spellcasting focus? Does it have to be included in the somatic component?

If a spell has a material component, you need to handle that component when you cast the spell. The same rule applies if you’re using a spellcasting focus as the material component. ...

What happens after the 1 minute and the effect ends? I dont see a recharge... can you pick it up and animate it again?

This is my question as well, Doesn't say you can't so I imagine after a minute you can just use it again as long as you spend a bonus action to do so? 

I would say yes, it doesn't give any charges so in limited as long as you keep using a bonus action

my dm said yes on this ,,not sure what your dm would go with but it sounds like it in the summary 

What's the command word?

Does anyone know how much weight an Animated Shield could support? Like if I was wielding the shield, and "held" it over my head so that a teammate could leap off of it and into the air to do a cool maneuver, could it actually support their body weight? And if so, what's the limit? Could it protect me from a falling building's debris?

Quote from petyu3 >>

What's the command word?

Usually you as a character get to decide it's command word/phrase and you can attune it as so:

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/magic-items#Attunement

Quote from TheMuffinMan919 >>

Does anyone know how much weight an Animated Shield could support? Like if I was wielding the shield, and "held" it over my head so that a teammate could leap off of it and into the air to do a cool maneuver, could it actually support their body weight? And if so, what's the limit? Could it protect me from a falling building's debris?

 that's up to your DM since there are no rules on the matter

@TheMuffinMan919

It can probably carry however much you can carry, since you're still 'wielding' the shield. It isn't intended to be a better Tenser's Floating Disk.

RAW, it likely won't protect you from falling debris, as those tend to be Dexterity Saving Throws.

I would agree unless said character has the Shield Master feat

I’m trying to pick random magic items to describe as daelkyr creations so I’m better at that if I ever get to run an Eberron campaign. In this case, it’s a symbiont.

“Valaara, the Crawling Queen, has imbued the vermin in this container with a malign intelligence. To attune to it, you must pour out the contents of the container onto your arm, allowing the maggots within to burrow in. At your command, swarms of flies spill forth from your empty hand, creating a barrier that perverts the very concept of a shield to protect you. It can hover on its own or form a massive structure of flies upon your arm.

Symbiotic Nature. The shield can’t be removed from you while you’re attuned to it, and you can’t voluntarily end your attunement to it. If you’re targeted by a spell that ends a curse, your attunement ends, and flies and maggots spill from your skin all across your body until they’re gone”

@ClericalKenku 

If I were playing my Swarm Master character, I'd totally want that. The fly-shield's difficult de-attunement just creates more incentive to make the most of his first attunement, to Tattoos.