Droid X questions/help rooting?

Hey guys and gals,

I have had a droid x for abotu 9 months probably and had a Droid 2 before that. I have never rooted one but am thinking about it. The reason I am is that my phone is getting really slow and I am not sure why. I don't have that many extra apps downloaded and I can' even hardly use pandora. It just stops and it isn't because of a poor signal.

What are some of the basic advantages of rooting a 3G droid X?

Will I be able to make my phone run faster whether it is due to beign rooted or because I will be able to ditch verizon apps that will slow down a droid?

Is there a good run down on how to do it?

Are there any antivirus programs I should have downloaded. I think I had the standard one that came on it but for some stupid reason I think I deleted it or uninstalled it. Anyway to get this back or do you have to download all new apps when you root?

Does your phone still backup using gmail when it is rooted?

Anyways, thanks in advance for the help.