Not sure about the infrared stuff. Should be there. Mines got voice command. This option would not be an official US Cellular release. So if you were to bring in your phone you would have to flash back to the last official US Cellular rom before hand.
Could upgrade to a custom rom from the ppckitchen. DCD's roms over at xda, or no2chem's rom.
Also you could just install the official sprint rom. Just make sure that you DO NOT let the customizations run after the rom loads for the first time. You must soft reset before this happens. Get your stylus ready youll only have 3 seconds once it shows up on screen. This is really important.
Then you would install the appropriate dcd carrier cab for US Cellular.
Carrier Cabs Here
http://dcd1182.n715dp.com/index.php?dir=carriers%2F
That would make the phone a US Cellular phone. Setting up voice/data and gps settings. You would only have to do this if you arent using the ppckitchen. In the ppckitchen you can choose your carrier from a drop down list.
Also take a look at this thread if your leaning towards the custom roms.
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=33857