Honestly, if you want professional tools, get Photoshop, though it does cost money. I love it so much, I consider it as my "secret love". xD I use it all the time. My current profile design, and most of my signatures were made from photoshop. I so agree with you on paint and GIMP. They're helpful, but they don't have the tools I need. This reminds me, since I reinstalled windows, I need to reinstall my Photoshop. I miss it so much. lol
Sometimes customizing the profile can be a bit of a pain as well. Especially adding the profile banner...that's one of the biggest conflicts. lol. A suggestion would be matching your profile with your current avatar (which I think it looks pretty cool. :3)