Tips to achieving crisp menu text?

Hi there,
I know I can't expect a whole lot from a compressed SD menu, but are there any tips to getting a little clearer titles (as in button text)? If I use the different text modes "sharp" "Crisp" "Strong" "Smooth" the text looks good, but the highlight is very ugly (I know this is because it can't have aliasing or softening around the edges so instead converts even the soft edge to a hard edge.)
I've resorted to underlines and symbols (in Photoshop) instead of text highlights, but sometimes text would be preferred.
Is this just something to live with or are there some manual tricks that can be done in order to make it ANY more appealing?
Thanks,
Stephen