So, after doing some research there are some programs, animations and images you can load to make it look "un"-Windows. Some require registry hacking, hex editors... bleck. So here are the two that I settled on to get me 99% of the way:
Windows 7 Boot animation changer
(New boot animations downloadable HERE)
And to change the logon/shutdown background wallpaper go to the Julien-Mancini website, download the changer program, install it, and browse to whatever picture you want... very nice.
How to hide the "welcome" cursor in Win7, click HERE
and hide the Windows cursor altogether with Nomousy (put in the start menu). Put a shortcut on your Start Menu, and then later use the keyboard to run it a second time to make the cursor re-appear.
Design custom (tiny!!!) cursors, so they are not apparent on boot up: RWCursor Editor
Here's my boot and windows wallpaper:
