How can I delete the bevel object once a curve is created? I really like the curve feature. I think it has a lot of potential for creating curved objects for someone like myself who has a lot of difficulty creating a curve out of other meshes.

However, I really hate how curves pretty much need a bevel object, and that this bevel object CANNOT (to my knowledge) be deleted after the curved mesh is created.

Is there any way to create a curve, make a bend, have it be beveled, and not need a bevel object/be able to delete the bevel object afterwards?
That will depend on the shape you want the bevel to be and whether you want to keep editing the curve. For odd shapes you will need to keep the bevel object as it defines the shape. You can hide the bevel object or move it to another layer to keep it out of the way. If you don't need to edit the tubing then you can setup your bevel and then convert it to a mesh with &#9095; AltC and delete the curve objects.

For simple bevel shapes you don't need to use a bevel object. A square tube can be created by adding a bevel depth and leaving the resolution at 0.



By increasing the resolution to 1 or 2 you get a hexagonal or octagonal shaped tubing, higher values give a rounded cylindrical tube.



If you want sharper edges you can add an edge split modifier.