I searched for the very same answer this morning, and like you, there was nothing. But
I came across a review for the Handcent SMS application (which is free by the way) and the bottom line they gave was that is was much better than the default android messaging. I downloaded it to give it a try just 30 minutes ago... I'm so in love that I had to get back on here and tell you. Granted, I haven't sent or received any messages yet but so far this is EXACTLY what I needed. Just a few things you can customize and some of the options that I wanted changed and was ABLE to:
-You can turn off the contact photo....
-And turn off "name:"in front of everything, thank god.
-I'm a previous iPhone user but had to switch to Sprint so I just got the Evo. I HATED the sms messaging format. I was able to change it to look exactly like the iPhone/iChat format.
-It really bothered me that I didn't hear/feel when I'd get a text and be on the phone at the same time, you can change that.
-You can make the screen light up when you get a message or even turn on a pop-up option.
Those are just some of the things... you can change font, colors, the flashing of the LED light, even the little icon in the notification bar. I think this will be the key to my sanity.
Hope this helps! And here is the article if you want to check it out:
Handcent SMS: The Flexible Messaging App – Android and Me