Similar question superuser- getting-back-the-old-alt-tab-windows-switching-behavior-in-windows-7superuser- getting-back-the-old-alt-tab-windows-switching-behavior-in-windows-7, Shevek's answer can solve the icons issue:
Hold down the left alt key
-
Press and release the right alt key, keeping the left alt key held down -
Then, still keeping the left alt key held down, tab-tab-tab away to you heart's content...
Perhaps some autohotkey magic can turn Left Alt + Right Alt into just Left Alt. I bet Phoshi can help with that.
Other customizations (which may not help with your specific requests):
vistaswitcher is very customizable
iswitchw filters through a list of open windows as you type—with a semi-transparent dialog accessible by simply pressing the Caps Lock key.
