err.. under normal circumstances you can just take out the battery (i'm a girl, my nails aren't that long but heck they're long enough).. without using a knife (
)
secondly, a battery pull reboots your phone which helps to solve some of the problems your phone may be having in terms of software/app glitches. and it also helps to free up application memory.
I'm on OS 5.0.0.351, and i've yet to encounter any of the problems you've had (touch wood)