Well, personally I wouldn't mind doing a mod, it doesn't sound like that expensive of a thing to pull off (of course, I would be screwed as far as software went).
It does seem any system with TV-Out would benefit heavily with IR. Two out of the Three TV's I've encountered can't switch to a different input without the remote (one of the dumbest things ever), it would be nice if you could just plug your Pandora into a TV and press a button to cycle through your inputs without having to go get the remote (Nice, but far from necessary).
Of course, I totally understand that the line has to be drawn somewhere, and I'm very happy with how capable it is. The only reason I'd want IR to be included by default is because that would guarantee more drivers and a higher compatibility list for TV's.
So in conclusion, yeah, it'd be great, I'd love for the unit to have one. But not if it bumps the cost to high, or the release date back further, it's not worth it. Adding it to the docking station would be the second best option.
Edit: I just remembered, I bought my girlfriend a IR directed remote control helicopter once.. would be intriguing to program flight patterns into the Pandora to fly it around automatically. Ok, I'm done talking now, you guys can start discussing useful stuff again.