I understand completely and am experiencing the same draw to do this. I just got my phone last week and if I had gotten it near launch day I would have done the htcdev unlock but now that a full s-off solution is here I'd rather do it this way before I do any updating at all and do it right from the start.
I've also been reading until I'm blue in the face and there are a few hints from those that bricked at first and kept trying until they finally got it. The last one ended up using a new sd card and finally got it to work. Another found out his worked when wifi was turned on, etc. I think my best chance is to use a freshly formatted in the phone backup sd card and then make sure wifi is on, and possibly a factory reset. The unbrick seems easy enough to do and I haven't heard one person have it not work yet once they figured out their way around ubuntu.
Speaking of ubuntu, I did get mine running off of a flash drive and it seems really solid to me. I tried linux a long time ago and got it working and then bailed on it and never ran it again. This newer version seems a lot more user friendly and I actually like it. I've been trying to use it for everyday stuff just to get used to it a little and get ready for the unbricking process should the need arise.
I got my ubuntu iso from here:
Desktop | Ubuntu Be sure to get the 32bit version. They said they made it in the 64bit version but never tested it. All of the test subjects were using the 32bit version and that's good enough for me.
And used this software to make the bootable usb drive and read the iso:
http://www.linuxliveusb.com/en/download
I do see they are recommending another program on their website though:
Create a USB stick on Windows | Ubuntu and I couldn't tell you what led me to use the one I did but I must have found a guide or something that went that way. Regardless, it worked just fine for me. After setting up the usb I booted from it, selected try ubuntu and it booted right up. I was able to install chrome, run it and import all of my bookmarks into it and it worked great for me.
I'll probably take the plunge tonight, possibly in a few minutes and see how it goes. I don't want to start too late just in case I get the brick so I won't be up all night. I have to work in the morning.