It's worth persevering with multiple images. I use it all the time, it helps the flow of a post and particularly in making comparisons:

http://www.chronocentric.com/forums/heuer/index.cgi?page=1;md=read;id=37919

In fact, I hardly ever used the Optional Image URL: line and now I never use it at all. As Jeff said, it's easy to highlight the text and press the 'picture frame' button - it's also pretty easy to type directly once you get the hang of it; if I'm in mid flow typing, I just type the switches directly rather than using the style buttons.