Hey guys, not really read the thread through so sorry if its going over old ground ,

I would have a play with the different uv settings. planar, clyindrical, spherical, etc to get a "feel" of them and then go from there. No one way is the best, its up to you. The main thing to think about is keeping the mesh the same ratio in the texture editor as it is in the model, that way you aviod the dreaded texture stretching and compressing, its well worht making the effort uving as it is modeling (as ive found out to my peril)

Its learning another thing again, once you get it down you will be able to model for texturing etc etc, and really relise why edge loops and quads are the way forward and not just a modeling/animation term!