New to phone .. basic questions

I have not actually recieved my phone yet but i know that as soon as it arrives i will want to root it (how?), use titanium to remove all the crap install launcher pro and change my default search to google (seems that one gives some people problems)

My question is this.. Once rooted (how do i do this?), can one cook up a rom with preinstalled apps and features and just blow it onto the phone (Are there any available?), how does that work in the android world?