Solving the Zombie Problem

Since Zombie movies are so incredibly popular, and done nearly to death, it seems to me high time for me to try to create a believable source for them. So far, I've thought that 'Fido' did the best job: some sort of organism borne on a comet, that made it to Earth, and then proceeded to propogate. I like the idea of something bioengineered that is running an optimization routine. It would be a macrovirus / nanomachine that is going through human flesh looking for something, all the way back to charred remains and skeletons. I'd like to combine it with the 'Strangers' from 'Dark City'. These virii/ machines are hunting for some winning genetic combination, and the best way to do that is for any human organism to try to infect and ingest another until the combination/permutation occurs: a superior life form, based on human DNA.
It doesn't seem that far-fetched, since already the move toward purely carbon-based nanomachines has already occurred. If these mechorganisms (a NEOLOGISM if ever there was one) could spin or secrete fullerenes fueled by rotting flesh, they'd have all the resources they'd need to reanimate corpses.
So that should solve the locomotion, fuel supplies and motivations for a Zombie.

To make the point more clearly, my idea is not intended to *resurrect* the
dead, instead I want my mechorganisms to *mine* them. Or utilize them, like a very intelligent and resourceful hermit crab.

I have in mind 'the walking dead' covered with spider-silk (fullerenes,
actually) that have interpenetrated the corpse, and are utilizing its flesh,
not re-animating it.

My idea would be that for some reason, the mechorganisms sampled human flesh
first (perhaps a cell or two on space debris), decided it was acceptable and
then invaded our planet.

The zombie form would only be a preliminary, but...think of the horrific
possibilities! If a entire nuclear family was infected, the mechaorganisms
might decide to isolate the bloodline, and create a single moving beast out of
Mom, Dad, and the kids. Crawling with silvery spider shapes at the very edge
of visual acuity.

That image alone is completely *original* folks. Yes, it's a bit of
'Thing','Assemblers of Infinity', and the 'Mist', but still...it's two moves
to the left, and that in artist's terms is originality.