vBar is what I have used since July and it is perfect. I have it set to run are startup (after reset), and it replaces the standard PPC close button with its own. It have another icon next to it that drops down to show the running tasks, and lets you close them without returning to them.
I have mine skinned with the standard PPC cross and a small arrow for the running tasks menu. See in the attached zip for them.
If you like the smart close, you can disable vBars close-on-click command as well.
Click Here to go to the page on handango.
Good Luck. Post if this was a help!