I also had a hard time with the rear brakes. Is removing the control arm a simple task?

I can confirm that you do not have to disconnect the front brake line.

I also assume (I can only assume, since I didn't get the rear caliper bolts out) that you must NOT engage the parking brake when removing the rear rotors. The p-brake is a drum-style that grips against the inside of the rear rotor, is that correct???

 

Dont take off your brakes lines unless you just like to bleed brakes or want to replace the fluid. Just remove the cap from your brake fluid reservoir before you start to compress the pistons and any overflow will come up. Just keep some rags under it and it wont get all over the place. Note you dont want to have your brake fluid over the full line, so remove some as needed.