diff --git a/lnwire/lnwire.go b/lnwire/lnwire.go
index 9709f491..d62d9a43 100644
--- a/lnwire/lnwire.go
+++ b/lnwire/lnwire.go
@@ -62,252 +62,197 @@ func (c CreditsAmount) ToSatoshi() int64 {
 	return int64(c / 1000)
 }
 
-// Writes the big endian representation of element
-// Unified function to call when writing different types
-// Pre-allocate a byte-array of the correct size for cargo-cult security
-// More copies but whatever...
+// writeElement is a one-stop shop to write the big endian representation of
+// any element which is to be serialized for the wire protocol. The passed
+// io.Writer should be backed by an appropriatly sized byte slice, or be able
+// to dynamically expand to accomdate additional data.
+//
+// TODO(roasbeef): this should eventually draw from a buffer pool for
+// serialization.
+// TODO(roasbeef): switch to var-ints for all?
 func writeElement(w io.Writer, element interface{}) error {
-	var err error
 	switch e := element.(type) {
 	case uint8:
 		var b [1]byte
 		b[0] = byte(e)
-		_, err = w.Write(b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := w.Write(b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
 	case uint16:
 		var b [2]byte
 		binary.BigEndian.PutUint16(b[:], uint16(e))
-		_, err = w.Write(b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := w.Write(b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
 	case CreditsAmount:
-		err = binary.Write(w, binary.BigEndian, int64(e))
-		if err != nil {
+		if err := binary.Write(w, binary.BigEndian, int64(e)); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
 	case uint32:
 		var b [4]byte
 		binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(b[:], uint32(e))
-		_, err = w.Write(b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := w.Write(b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
 	case uint64:
 		var b [8]byte
 		binary.BigEndian.PutUint64(b[:], uint64(e))
-		_, err = w.Write(b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := w.Write(b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
 	case HTLCKey:
-		err = binary.Write(w, binary.BigEndian, int64(e))
-		if err != nil {
+		if err := binary.Write(w, binary.BigEndian, int64(e)); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
 	case btcutil.Amount:
-		err = binary.Write(w, binary.BigEndian, int64(e))
-		if err != nil {
+		if err := binary.Write(w, binary.BigEndian, int64(e)); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
 	case *btcec.PublicKey:
 		var b [33]byte
 		serializedPubkey := e.SerializeCompressed()
-		if len(serializedPubkey) != 33 {
-			return fmt.Errorf("Wrong size pubkey")
-		}
 		copy(b[:], serializedPubkey)
-		_, err = w.Write(b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		// TODO(roasbeef): use WriteVarBytes here?
+		if _, err := w.Write(b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
 	case []uint64:
+		// Enforce a max number of elements in a uint64 slice.
 		numItems := len(e)
 		if numItems > 65535 {
 			return fmt.Errorf("Too many []uint64s")
 		}
-		// Write the size
-		err = writeElement(w, uint16(numItems))
-		if err != nil {
+
+		// First write out the the number of elements in the slice as a
+		// length prefix.
+		if err := writeElement(w, uint16(numItems)); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		// Write the data
+
+		// After the prefix detailing the number of elements, write out
+		// each uint64 in series.
 		for i := 0; i < numItems; i++ {
-			err = writeElement(w, e[i])
-			if err != nil {
+			if err := writeElement(w, e[i]); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 		}
-		return nil
 	case []*btcec.Signature:
+		// Enforce a sane number for the maximum number of signatures.
 		numSigs := len(e)
 		if numSigs > 127 {
 			return fmt.Errorf("Too many signatures!")
 		}
-		// Write the size
-		err = writeElement(w, uint8(numSigs))
-		if err != nil {
+
+		// First write out the the number of elements in the slice as a
+		// length prefix.
+		if err := writeElement(w, uint8(numSigs)); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		// Write the data
+
+		// After the prefix detailing the number of elements, write out
+		// each signature in series.
 		for i := 0; i < numSigs; i++ {
-			err = writeElement(w, e[i])
-			if err != nil {
+			if err := writeElement(w, e[i]); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 		}
-		return nil
 	case *btcec.Signature:
 		sig := e.Serialize()
-		sigLength := len(sig)
-		if sigLength > 73 {
+		if len(sig) > 73 {
 			return fmt.Errorf("Signature too long!")
 		}
-		// Write the size
-		err = writeElement(w, uint8(sigLength))
-		if err != nil {
+
+		if err := wire.WriteVarBytes(w, 0, sig); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		// Write the data
-		_, err = w.Write(sig)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		return nil
 	case *wire.ShaHash:
-		_, err = w.Write(e[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := w.Write(e[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
-	case []*[20]byte:
-		// Get size of slice and dump in slice
+	case [][20]byte:
+		// First write out the number of elements in the slice.
 		sliceSize := len(e)
-		err = writeElement(w, uint16(sliceSize))
-		if err != nil {
+		if err := writeElement(w, uint16(sliceSize)); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		// Write in each sequentially
+
+		// Then write each out sequentially.
 		for _, element := range e {
-			err = writeElement(w, &element)
-			if err != nil {
+			if err := writeElement(w, &element); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 		}
-		return nil
-	case **[20]byte:
-		_, err = w.Write((*e)[:])
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
 	case [20]byte:
-		_, err = w.Write(e[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		// TODO(roasbeef): should be factor out to caller logic...
+		if _, err := w.Write(e[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
 	case wire.BitcoinNet:
 		var b [4]byte
 		binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(b[:], uint32(e))
-		_, err := w.Write(b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := w.Write(b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
 	case []byte:
+		// Enforce the maxmium length of all slices used in the wire
+		// protocol.
 		sliceLength := len(e)
-		if sliceLength > MAX_SLICE_LENGTH {
+		if sliceLength > MaxSliceLength {
 			return fmt.Errorf("Slice length too long!")
 		}
-		// Write the size
-		err = writeElement(w, uint16(sliceLength))
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		// Write the data
-		_, err = w.Write(e)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		return nil
 	case PkScript:
+		// Make sure it's P2PKH or P2SH size or less.
 		scriptLength := len(e)
-		// Make sure it's P2PKH or P2SH size or less
 		if scriptLength > 25 {
 			return fmt.Errorf("PkScript too long!")
 		}
-		// Write the size (1-byte)
-		err = writeElement(w, uint8(scriptLength))
-		if err != nil {
+
+		if err := wire.WriteVarBytes(w, 0, e); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		// Write the data
-		_, err = w.Write(e)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		return nil
 	case string:
 		strlen := len(e)
-		if strlen > 65535 {
+		if strlen > MaxSliceLength {
 			return fmt.Errorf("String too long!")
 		}
-		// Write the size (2-bytes)
-		err = writeElement(w, uint16(strlen))
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		// Write the data
-		_, err = w.Write([]byte(e))
-		if err != nil {
+
+		if err := wire.WriteVarString(w, 0, e); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	case []*wire.TxIn:
-		// Append the unsigned(!!!) txins
 		// Write the size (1-byte)
 		if len(e) > 127 {
 			return fmt.Errorf("Too many txins")
 		}
-		err = writeElement(w, uint8(len(e)))
-		if err != nil {
+
+		// Write out the number of txins.
+		if err := writeElement(w, uint8(len(e))); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
+
 		// Append the actual TxIns (Size: NumOfTxins * 36)
-		// Do not include the sequence number to eliminate funny business
+		// During serialization we leave out the sequence number to
+		// eliminate any funny business.
 		for _, in := range e {
-			err = writeElement(w, in)
-			if err != nil {
+			if err := writeElement(w, in); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 		}
-		return nil
 	case *wire.TxIn:
-		// Hash
+		// First write out the previous txid.
 		var h [32]byte
-		copy(h[:], e.PreviousOutPoint.Hash.Bytes())
-		_, err = w.Write(h[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		copy(h[:], e.PreviousOutPoint.Hash[:])
+		if _, err := w.Write(h[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		// Index
+
+		// Then the exact index of the previous out point.
 		var idx [4]byte
 		binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(idx[:], e.PreviousOutPoint.Index)
-		_, err = w.Write(idx[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := w.Write(idx[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
-
+		// TODO(roasbeef): *MsgTx
 	default:
 		return fmt.Errorf("Unknown type in writeElement: %T", e)
 	}
@@ -315,6 +260,8 @@ func writeElement(w io.Writer, element interface{}) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// writeElements is writes each element in the elements slice to the passed
+// io.Writer using writeElement.
 func writeElements(w io.Writer, elements ...interface{}) error {
 	for _, element := range elements {
 		err := writeElement(w, element)
@@ -325,89 +272,73 @@ func writeElements(w io.Writer, elements ...interface{}) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// readElement is a one-stop utility function to deserialize any datastructure
+// encoded using the serialization format of lnwire.
 func readElement(r io.Reader, element interface{}) error {
 	var err error
 	switch e := element.(type) {
 	case *uint8:
 		var b [1]uint8
-		_, err = r.Read(b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := r.Read(b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		*e = b[0]
-		return nil
 	case *uint16:
 		var b [2]byte
-		_, err = io.ReadFull(r, b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := io.ReadFull(r, b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		*e = binary.BigEndian.Uint16(b[:])
-		return nil
 	case *CreditsAmount:
 		var b [8]byte
-		_, err = io.ReadFull(r, b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := io.ReadFull(r, b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		*e = CreditsAmount(int64(binary.BigEndian.Uint64(b[:])))
-		return nil
 	case *uint32:
 		var b [4]byte
-		_, err = io.ReadFull(r, b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := io.ReadFull(r, b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		*e = binary.BigEndian.Uint32(b[:])
-		return nil
 	case *uint64:
 		var b [8]byte
-		_, err = io.ReadFull(r, b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := io.ReadFull(r, b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		*e = binary.BigEndian.Uint64(b[:])
-		return nil
 	case *HTLCKey:
 		var b [8]byte
-		_, err = io.ReadFull(r, b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := io.ReadFull(r, b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		*e = HTLCKey(int64(binary.BigEndian.Uint64(b[:])))
-		return nil
 	case *btcutil.Amount:
 		var b [8]byte
-		_, err = io.ReadFull(r, b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := io.ReadFull(r, b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		*e = btcutil.Amount(int64(binary.BigEndian.Uint64(b[:])))
-		return nil
 	case **wire.ShaHash:
 		var b wire.ShaHash
-		_, err = io.ReadFull(r, b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := io.ReadFull(r, b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		*e = &b
-		return nil
 	case **btcec.PublicKey:
 		var b [33]byte
-		_, err = io.ReadFull(r, b[:])
+		if _, err = io.ReadFull(r, b[:]); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		pubKey, err := btcec.ParsePubKey(b[:], btcec.S256())
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		x, err := btcec.ParsePubKey(b[:], btcec.S256())
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		*e = x
-		return nil
+		*e = pubKey
 	case *[]uint64:
 		var numItems uint16
-		err = readElement(r, &numItems)
-		if err != nil {
+		if err := readElement(r, &numItems); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		// if numItems > 65535 {
@@ -425,7 +356,6 @@ func readElement(r io.Reader, element interface{}) error {
 			items = append(items, item)
 		}
 		*e = items
-		return nil
 	case *[]*btcec.Signature:
 		var numSigs uint8
 		err = readElement(r, &numSigs)
@@ -449,39 +379,25 @@ func readElement(r io.Reader, element interface{}) error {
 		*e = sigs
 		return nil
 	case **btcec.Signature:
-		var sigLength uint8
-		err = readElement(r, &sigLength)
+		sigBytes, err := wire.ReadVarBytes(r, 0, 73, "signature")
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 
-		if sigLength > 73 {
-			return fmt.Errorf("Signature too long!")
-		}
-
-		// Read the sig length
-		l := io.LimitReader(r, int64(sigLength))
-		sig, err := ioutil.ReadAll(l)
+		sig, err := btcec.ParseSignature(sigBytes, btcec.S256())
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		if len(sig) != int(sigLength) {
-			return fmt.Errorf("EOF: Signature length mismatch.")
-		}
-		btcecSig, err := btcec.ParseSignature(sig, btcec.S256())
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		*e = btcecSig
-		return nil
-	case *[]*[20]byte:
+		*e = sig
+	case *[][20]byte:
 		// How many to read
 		var sliceSize uint16
 		err = readElement(r, &sliceSize)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		var data []*[20]byte
+
+		data := make([][20]byte, 0, sliceSize)
 		// Append the actual
 		for i := uint16(0); i < sliceSize; i++ {
 			var element [20]byte
@@ -489,93 +405,42 @@ func readElement(r io.Reader, element interface{}) error {
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
-			data = append(data, &element)
+			data = append(data, element)
 		}
 		*e = data
-		return nil
 	case *[20]byte:
-		_, err = io.ReadFull(r, e[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err = io.ReadFull(r, e[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		return nil
 	case *wire.BitcoinNet:
 		var b [4]byte
-		_, err := io.ReadFull(r, b[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err := io.ReadFull(r, b[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		*e = wire.BitcoinNet(binary.BigEndian.Uint32(b[:]))
 		return nil
 	case *[]byte:
-		// Get the blob length first
-		var blobLength uint16
-		err = readElement(r, &blobLength)
+		bytes, err := wire.ReadVarBytes(r, 0, MaxSliceLength, "byte slice")
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-
-		// Shouldn't need to do this, since it's uint16, but we
-		// might have a different value for MAX_SLICE_LENGTH...
-		if int(blobLength) > MAX_SLICE_LENGTH {
-			return fmt.Errorf("Slice length too long!")
-		}
-
-		// Read the slice length
-		l := io.LimitReader(r, int64(blobLength))
-		*e, err = ioutil.ReadAll(l)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		if len(*e) != int(blobLength) {
-			return fmt.Errorf("EOF: Slice length mismatch.")
-		}
-		return nil
+		*e = bytes
 	case *PkScript:
-		// Get the script length first
-		var scriptLength uint8
-		err = readElement(r, &scriptLength)
+		pkScript, err := wire.ReadVarBytes(r, 0, 25, "pkscript")
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-
-		if scriptLength > 25 {
-			return fmt.Errorf("PkScript too long!")
-		}
-
-		// Read the script length
-		l := io.LimitReader(r, int64(scriptLength))
-		*e, err = ioutil.ReadAll(l)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		if len(*e) != int(scriptLength) {
-			return fmt.Errorf("EOF: Signature length mismatch.")
-		}
-		return nil
+		*e = pkScript
 	case *string:
-		// Get the string length first
-		var strlen uint16
-		err = readElement(r, &strlen)
+		str, err := wire.ReadVarString(r, 0)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		// Read the string for the length
-		l := io.LimitReader(r, int64(strlen))
-		b, err := ioutil.ReadAll(l)
-		if len(b) != int(strlen) {
-			return fmt.Errorf("EOF: String length mismatch.")
-		}
-		*e = string(b)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		return nil
+		*e = str
 	case *[]*wire.TxIn:
 		// Read the size (1-byte number of txins)
 		var numScripts uint8
-		err = readElement(r, &numScripts)
-		if err != nil {
+		if err := readElement(r, &numScripts); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		if numScripts > 127 {
@@ -583,23 +448,20 @@ func readElement(r io.Reader, element interface{}) error {
 		}
 
 		// Append the actual TxIns
-		var txins []*wire.TxIn
+		txins := make([]*wire.TxIn, 0, numScripts)
 		for i := uint8(0); i < numScripts; i++ {
 			outpoint := new(wire.OutPoint)
 			txin := wire.NewTxIn(outpoint, nil, nil)
-			err = readElement(r, &txin)
-			if err != nil {
+			if err := readElement(r, &txin); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 			txins = append(txins, txin)
 		}
 		*e = txins
-		return nil
 	case **wire.TxIn:
 		// Hash
 		var h [32]byte
-		_, err = io.ReadFull(r, h[:])
-		if err != nil {
+		if _, err = io.ReadFull(r, h[:]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		hash, err := wire.NewShaHash(h[:])
@@ -607,6 +469,7 @@ func readElement(r io.Reader, element interface{}) error {
 			return err
 		}
 		(*e).PreviousOutPoint.Hash = *hash
+
 		// Index
 		var idxBytes [4]byte
 		_, err = io.ReadFull(r, idxBytes[:])
@@ -622,6 +485,9 @@ func readElement(r io.Reader, element interface{}) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// readElements deserializes a variable number of elements into the passed
+// io.Reader, with each element being deserialized according to the readElement
+// function.
 func readElements(r io.Reader, elements ...interface{}) error {
 	for _, element := range elements {
 		err := readElement(r, element)