Installing a full E17 was very complicating even for me,to many stuff to be added and compiled.Only E16 is much easier but I didn't like it very much.
So everytime when I wanted to flirt with E17 it was much more easier for a very lazy man like me to install pure&simple a 3rd OS with all the beauties of E17 as default.Try the new Elive E17 Compiz(E17+Ecomorph) and I'm sure you'll like it very much.It has a very customizable compiz-like,almost like in Ubuntu's compiz-fusion and it is based off of the stable Debian Lenny.
I tried the latest OpenGeu 8.10 Luna Serena with ecomorph too but I didn't like it in the end,it is very unstable yet and its ecomorph still really sucks,I couldn't set up the desktop cube,the left-click mouse button doesn't work there.
http://www.elivecd.org/Download/e17-compiz