One of the things I used to do while learning my rudiments was to play rudiments to the radio, trying to make music with them. I'd whip out a pad and play along.

Cool.  I thought I was the only one...

Couldn't agree more.  I still practice Stone rudiments every day to an electronic metronome (in my case with a Rhythm Check function that gripes at me if I get off at all).  Before I start working on whatever I've set out for the day, I find that working on three to four rudiments run at different speeds on the metronome is really beneficial. Thus, getting a strong foundation with rudiments will be a great help. Also, if you are just working on rudiments with your hands, you might want to try tapping them out with your feet on the floor.  I started doing this at my desk at work a few months ago, and it has made playing double pedal much easier. While it is not exactly like playing pedals, it still strengthens the muscles in your legs, which once you start playing set will be helpful.

There's really only one way to perfect your rudiments, and that's to practice perfectly.

I had a drill I would put myself through each afternoon. I would play each rudiment perfectly ten times at three different tempos. If I messed up, I would play through the progression and mark how many times I goofed, even ever so slightly. I tried to keep notes on what I was slipping up, and break it down if neccesary.

For example, it took me over a year to properly land that grace note in the left flam in a series of flam accent rolls. I never could pull out of the double stroke to get that tiny little third grace note in there. So I would practice doing double strokes leading into the flam over and over, being concious not to let me flams go too far open or too far flat. Then I would go back and try the flam accent rolls again, being concious of every little stroke to have perfect definition, time, and meter.

I got to the point where I could literally fly through that stuff. Four years of obsession will do that. I would begin improvising with them, and it was odd to me that as I practiced the stuff I was good at, I still found areas I could improve at. For example, I began to hear my six stroke rolls being dragged into sextuplets rather than distinct taps and 32nd-note rolls. I'd get out the metronome and work up exercises playing both very deliberate tap rolls for a couple of measures, and then slurred them into sextuplets. I also began to hear the most minor discrepancies in my left-hand doubles. They were not as perfect as I had originally thought, so isolated my left hand for weeks at a time, running through double exercises, even triple-stroke exercises, to a metronome until my own ear could no longer distinguish inconsistencies or awkwardness.

I started my first serious practice on the rudiments 24 years ago, and I still work on them today, hearing more and more things I could perfect (but I just don't have the time to do that kind of thing anymore).

However you feel about technique, I think it's a very good thing to develop obsessions with the rudiments. Eventually you will burn out and want to do other things, but what a grounding you will have to pursue other things!