Do I need to recompile bitcoind? Looks like probably yes.
Yes
Do I need to compile namecoind? Is it a standard namecoind? Yes and yes? I dunno
its standard namecoind
The proxy script, what needs to be done with it, other than to make it executable and run it in place of bitcoind and namecoind?
Can the proxy script even handle a high load or is it going to fail miserably when you dump 100 or 200 GHs at it?
have a look at PoolServJ which replaces pushpool, lp and proxy
btw.
thats the reason i've started this thread. i want all pool owners to know how merged mining works - so its up to them to get it to work. and i hope some miners do read this and will prefer merged mining pools (like i do)