Gain on the front panel isn't very common to see, and not a bad idea at all.
Yeah, I also hate bright lights on the front of my gear! I always set my AVR screens to shut off after a few seconds of idle, and kick back on when any buttons are pressed. I have also used black markers, but black nail polish tends to work better. Or, just it up and clip the LED leads or remove it (I don't go to that extreme too often). And, I have done some pretty good jobs with electrical tape too, to where it just looks like a trim piece and don't really notice that it is tape.