Windows XP Skinning software - WindowsBlinds vs uxtheme.dll hacking

Since re-installing Windows XP today post-HDD failure I've been wondering about what the best way to modify the visual appearance of my system. I really dislike the default themes. I used to hack the uxtheme.dll and apply Visual Style files directly, however I've been wondering if I should just switch to WindowsBlinds? On top of the Visual Style stuff, I needed to have a Styler running and a few other applications (Y'z Shadow, for example) and this ended up eating up memory. Which is better?

What's the best (most efficient time wise for the user and easy on the system memory) method for replacing the default icons?

Jam it back in, in the dark.