I do wonder if the people that have had so much trouble removing pedals and are certain that they are using the proper direction of torque for the pedal involved, I wonder if they are using a long enough wrench. In most cases you will NOT already own a long enough wrench. You can buy one, they aren't terribly expensive, or you can fashion a 'cheater bar', but you do need to increase the effective length of your lever for stubborn pedals. I have found sharp blows (AND long levers) effective for frozen bolts of all kinds.