Something to add to the OP; you can now also disable most stock apps.
I know this worked on some of the ICS roms, so I just looked and verified that even though you cannot uninstall some of the bloat (without root), you can disable it . For example, I can disable Swype and install Swype Beta now. I hate AT&T Navigator, so I disabled it. If it cannot be uninstalled, disable it.
(settings --> applications --> all --> select the app and uninstall any updates --> disable) kinda like freezing the apps without root
Apps I disabled
City ID
Device help
Media Hub
Polaris Office
Swype
Yellow pages
YPMobile
Yahoo finance
I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones I hate
And some of the apps you can now uninstall...can't remember though which ones I did.
Yes this is a nice feature for those who want to freeze apps without having to root.