Universal Android Root seems to be the best answer for now. It's as easy to install as any non-market Android app. Of course, it may get disabled by OTA updates.

Barnacle seems to be the wifi tethering app of choice, as it's free and works on almost any hardware.

I'd really like to see Google start using their certification process to stop telcos from pulling this crap. Data is data. You're a dumb pipe. Get over it.