Brent,
I do pretty much what you do to keep them nested together tightly, but I just use the strap for the top most stick and wrap it around the all of the nested sticks a couple of times, then attach the tag end to the versa button on the top stick, and pull real tight. Your right, you can keep them all real tight and quiet and it isn't to bad to just carry them like that. With four it can be a little tiring to carry by hand, but I might just attach a rope to each end of one, like you mention, and sling it over my shoulder.
It would be nice to some how put them vertical on your back to keep both hands free, though. I might play around with the back pack straps some more.