The thing you really have to look at is what the pictures look like from a camera. The megapixels and other stats take such a far back seat to the actual quality of the photos that they're hardly worth even worrying about.
My first two digital cameras were Canon digital Elph's - the 2-megapixel S110 and the 4-megapixel S400. My S400 is on its last legs and I will probably move to the SD line, although I don't like having to switch from compact flash. I also have a Konica-Minolta A200 which I got for the high zoom and anti-shake, but the pictures just aren't as good as the ones I get with my Canon, even though it is 8 megapixels. (Though I do still like the camera.) Events I've gone to, you know where you all pull out your cameras and take the same group picture, and then later share - everyone knows which pictures I took, because they're generally the best, even though I'm not any better of a photographer than the next person. The Pentax and the Casio and the Sony's - they just aren't as real looking photos. There's no other way to describe it. I would say that the Nikons are similar in quality to the Canons, but everything else seems to lag behind.
The best advice I can give when researching cameras is to see what your friends'/family's/colleague's photos look like. Some of this, naturally, will depend on the quality of the photographer, but some of it will also be the camera.
Good luck.
Dave