On the ground that a picture is worth a thousand words, here are my current settings.

The node template part:

<!--
<p><em></em></p>
<code></code>
<i></i>
<b></b>
&#91; &#93; 
-->
<p>
</p>
<code>
</code>
<p>
</p>
<br />

And the signature part: (Note that the div tags are automatically provided by PM.)

<div class="pmsig">
<div class="pmsig-108447">
---
<br /> 
demerphq<br />
<br />
<sub>

<ol>
<p><em>First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. 
</em><br /> -- Gandhi</p>
</ol>
</sub>
<!--
<hr />
<sub>
<p>
<strong>• Update:  </strong><br />

</p>
</sub>
-->
<br />

</div>
</div>