Hi!
We've actually been pretty lucky with our toddlers sleeping. I think what worked very well for us (and every parent has to determine what is best for their family and what they're comfortable with) is that we never had either one of our kids sleep with us (so they never got in the habit in the first place). Both kids (ages 4 and 2) sleep wonderfully. If either of the kids gets scared from a bad dream or thunderstorm, we just go into their rooms and comfort them (sometimes lay with them for just a few minutes for reasurance, but never for a long length of time).
As far as moving into a toddler bed, our son (who's 4 now), transitioned very easily at the age of about 2 yrs. 3 months. We will be moving our daughter (who is now 2 yrs. 3 months) into a toddler bed within the next month. Hope that's helpful! Good luck when the time comes.