yeah when my boss and a co-worker got Epics, I didn't even bother telling them about xda and ppcg, they just wouldn't be into all that. I'm one of the only people I know who knows how to modify/hack/jailbreak/unlock Android, WM6.x, iOS, and WP7, pretty much every variant of every phone, but I usually do pretty well just giving enough info and offering services a little at a time and only when really needed.
For instance I had a friend on tmobile who really wanted an iPhone, so I offered to jailbreak and unlock the phone, and added that I could put in a customized boot-screen and even theme it to look like an HTC desire and could even put animated weather if they wanted. Others like sticking to stock so I don't bother. I wasn't about to tell my boss to root his phone and get launcher pro for an aosp look or anything like that, I just told him he shouldn't use ATK unless he's force closing specific apps and gave him some suggestions on a few apps and widgets.
You just need to be aware of who you're talking to and what their needs really are. If I knew someone with an HD2 who didn't like WM6.x and wanted a "new phone" I'd be like "which OS do you want, because as long as it's not iOS you can do anything" and link him to my WP7 flash thread or Android flashing/SD threads. I've gotten a few bored looks talking over people's heads about this stuff so I pretty much just sit back and wait for them to ask something.
as far as the Epic being better than the Evo, well that's pretty subjective. Personally I'd take the Evo because:
1) too bulky + I HATE hardware keyboards.
2) cannot put Sense on an Epic, the porting project has been abandoned for lack of success. Personally I like aosp/CM more, but I still like to play with Sense HD ROMs, or at least keep it on my SD card when I want to roll eye-candy.
3) HDMI out.- I like to play emulators using the wii/ps3 remote on my phone and watch shows/movies at times, having a possibility of outputting it in good quality would be pretty sweet.
4) OMJ roms
5) the epic feels like cheap plastic. I know this point is really arbitrary and what-not, but for me it's an issue. Right now I use this awesome metal backed and nice glass HD2, and I just hate the feeling of the galaxy phones.
but again, the Epic has a better CPU and does have a s-amoled screen, which are the only 2 hardware things that are "better" Just comes down to what you prefer.