Ok, I finally broke down and decided to try to mod my batonlite. I ordered 3 MJLEDs and made a drop in replacement for the 3 Nichia(?) LEDs in the stock batonlite. It was kind of kludgy, but I snipped a circular piece of scrap metal (a pci slot cover) and drilled a hole through the center of it. I soldered the negative LED leads to the metal disc, and ran the shrink-wrap insulated positive leads through the drilled hole. I soldered the positive leads together to make a contact for battery. A few small cut strips of electrical tape were put around the drilled hole to make sure nothing short circuits.
Yes, I know this was probably a lot of extra work when I could have just desoldered the original LEDs off the board and put the new MJLEDs in. I needed to make sure I had a backup in case I screwed up though. :ironic:
The new LEDs are much brighter than the originals, and as an added bonus, I can use standard AAA instead of N cells. The only downside is that only alkaline batteries give a brightness boost. NiMH cells will light the LEDs, but it's not nearly as bright since the voltages are lower.