Mmm.. no, I cannot get the convert -unsharp to work the way I want without it dropping red speckles all over the image. Still need a solution for that someday.

Meanwhile, there's a contrast curve adjustment in that package which does help a lot:

dcraw -c -w -H 0 -o 1 xxxxx.cr2 | convert ppm:- -sigmoidal-contrast 3x50% -quality 98 -interlace plane xxxxx.jpg

Pretty good for being totally automated. I'd still like a touch of unsharp masking, though.

Cheers