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(The following suggestion applies mostly to single-user systems, or at least systems with a very primary user. I think this is the majority.)

At present, I can set the wallpaper for the login manager, but in a completely different place from where I set my normal desktop wallpaper. I suggest an option for KDM to always follow the normal wallpaper.

Also, the splash screen shows a greyed out Air, the default wallpaper for 4.2, which gives a very smooth and beautiful transition to the functioning desktop, but only if I'm still using Air as my wallpaper. Can the splash screen use the user's chosen wallpaper, ideally keeping the nice greyed-out and unfading effect?

I realise that context-aware wallpapers such as the new weather plugin will complicate this. It's only a very minor issue, but I think it would be nice bit of visual polish. At present a user can have four (including OS boot splash) different full screen colour images flash after each other over a few seconds.

This would present a MAJOR security risk, since the desktop wallpaper is in the users space, while KDM runs as root. It would also require accessing the users account to retrieve this information, which can only be done in a KDE only manner, while KDM supports more than just KDE.

Seeing there is a security risk, I may vote against this. But how about a compromise? I.e., detect the user's wallpaper on the start-up splash? I think most user just want an "smoother" login which doesn't change the background. So this one may do the trick

Or it's an other brainstorm?...

this screen seems to be run as user and not root

i dont see the security risk

That is the splash screen, not KDM which is what the OP described. There would be nothing wrong in doing anything there.

Actually I tagged and wrote about both KDM and the splash screen.

My basic idea is that there are, at present, too many different background images shown during login, and any move to reduce that is good.

for the fade from kdm - a fade thru black screen (or any other nice effect) etc can be made

for the fade from the splash - well there is no security problem

for the kdm wallpaper - add a button 'update kdm wallpaper' next to the user wallpaper selection. when clicked it opens a kdesu window