After spending the past couple of weeks learning Dolphin, the template issue is reminiscence of PHP Nuke with long hours of tweaking a theme. Nevertheless, you read my mind . . . I was about to post a 'wishlist' for Dolphin :)

One of the 'wishlist' items is a built-in template editor similar to what SocialGo.com and Meetup.com use on their networks. SocialGo's theme customization is a flash based widget that sits in the Admin area. They have a standard design that you can customize, but if see more you want something different, then you have to hire a programmer. Meetup's is a custom code they use. Meetup does not allow moving components around, however SocialGo does allow it. Both make site customization 100 times easier by allowing easy editing of the basic template. This feature comes in handy when you are a Non-Profit or low on funds.