Well, let me start by stating the obvious. Namely, tofu isnt meat and it is nothing like meat. You are never going to fix it in a way that will make you think it is--unless you have no sense of taste, smell, sight or touch. Of course, I should also say that tofu does indeed have a taste of its own although it is admittedly not as strong flavored as some other foods (like meat). If you honestly dont think the tofu you bought has any taste, you should switch brands. I have been living in Japan for 6 years and I can tell you that if its well made, tofu is one of the best foods there is.
As far as the quality of protein goes, its obviously not as good as meat. Im not a doctor and dont even play one on TV, but it is probably the best quality vegetable protein youre going to find unless youre adventurous enough to eat it after its been fermented. (If you are it called natto and is really good but smells and looks a little like slimy toe-jam.)
That said, what you do to it depends alot on what you like. In the summer it is really good just cubed and put onto a salad. Ive also got a friend who throws it in the blender with some fruit and makes a breakfast smoothie. I cant say as Ive tried this, but he swears its good. As far as bacterial contamination goes, you wouldnt try to drink the blood that drains from chicken breasts, would you? Besides, thats why we have refrigerators. Keep it cold and eat it by the date on the pack.
As far as cooking goes, I usually dont bother to drain it for myself since Im just too damn hungry. It does turn out a little wetter in the middle, but it doesnt bother me. You could try just splitting it in half to make a couple "tofu steaks" (yes Im serious) and cooking them in a skillet with some mushrooms then making a simple sauce out of soysauce or oyster sauce and some sake (or mirin if you can find it in your neck of the woods). Its also good mashed up and mixed about half and half with scrambled eggs and misc veggies. Im not really much of a beef person, but if you think something just has to die in order to make it a meal, I do like it stir fried with some lamb or oysters and spinach.
Regarding marinading, doesnt that kind of defeat the point of draining it? Ive never tried it, but I think it would be better to flavor the sauce and not the tofu. After all, otherwise youd probably loose all that soybean-deliciousness. Yum, yum.
If you dont like the texture, you might be overcooking it. It really calls for a light hand. Or, you could play around with the different kinds. Basically Chinese is pretty rubbery and Japanese is more silky (well I guess you can tell which one I like). If you can get to a Chinese, Korean or Japanese grocery, they would have the freshest and therefore best quality. If youre lucky enough to find it made that day, get it! Caution: egg-tofu (tamagodofu in Japanese) and sesame-tofu (gomadofu) are not tofu. They are very good, but not the same thing and should be eaten as is, cold.
And I guess that about ends this diatribe. Just remember two things, tofu is a wonderfull thing, open you mind to the joy of soy and dont try to make it into meat. If you really want meat, just eat meat.