You're not alone, I don't like it either (though its not the smily, I'm sticking that in any sig I make
).
I can't seem to set my heart on any single way to incorporate my nick into my sig, nothing feels right. I tried just sticking it there as everyone else does...didn't feel right. I tried removing the bubble-like things, then I stuck the letters of my name in them and made them really look like bubbles...but that really didn't blend well with the rest of my sig. Then I tried framing the sig, so that I could just stick my nick in the frame...but I couldn't decide on any single frame style...
Ah well...guess I'll scrap this sig and start from scratch again...