You are right, my mistake. Top level page will not be visible until people login. But what some people do is create a public page with links to member-only pages (system will ask for login if a public visitor follows a link).
Re lock icon - yes, we know that on some themes lock icons interfere with longer page names. The reason we kept the lock on all pages under Member-only section is for consistency with visibility indicator (eye) and to communicate to less experienced users that these pages are indeed secure once they are moved under Members-only section. I made a note for our team to revisit this issue.
Dmitry Buterin, Chief Apricot