Verne/DC,
Each of the camera tests include the following table:
The ones to look at are "Power: Off to Record", "Half-press Lag (0->S1)", "Half to Full-press Lag (S1->S2)", "Full-press Lag (0->S2)", "Off to Shot Taken" and "Shot to Shot" times. To me the ones that matter most are the last 4 because they represent real world shooting.
For the lenses, in the opening table in each review there is a "Lens" category that will identify the aperture/focal length settings, optical zoom, image stabilization and manufacturer, if not the camera producer (Sony tends to use Zeiss, Panasonic uses Leica, but the others use their own). There can be a big difference on the lenses, but they have to be evaluated as part of the total package. For this, I would look at the summary ratings of each camera (bottom of last page of the review) and compare the "Image Quality" rankings.
Based on these things, you might be surprised that some of the more compact cameras actually do better than some of the larger, more SLR looking units.
Also, re the battery issue, DC is right. Canon has gone cheapo on the factory battery in order to keep the whole package price down. Your best bet is to get some Ni-MH or Li-On rechargeable AAs, or worst case use Lithium single use batteries.
Hope this helps. Clear as mud, eh?