I did this recently as well with:
https://codebull.github.io/AccountCreate/
It would be nice if a service like @blocktrades would create accounts for the 3+ Steem fee as a way to get around making an account through Steemit.com
Better yet, if there was a decentralized market where anyone could sell their pending accounts that would be pretty awesome.
How awesome would that be. Maybe officially propose that to @steemalliance? Would that set a motion?
Steemconnect is very handy to use if you already have an account. Instant for 3 STEEM. https://app.steemconnect.com/accounts/create or steemninja can be used for $2.50 and takes card. https://steem.ninja/