So I got some parts from DigiKey today; enough to  do some more testing. Took out the ebay purchase I’ve had for a few weeks, and got to work.
I picked up this AF assist lens from a Canon 540EZ flash, complete with LEDs.

CANON AF LED UNIT SPEEDLITE 540EZ FLASH NEW

I hooked up an LED to the 540EZ AF lens along with a resistor (200 ohm) and a 9v battery.

This is what I got in terms of a pattern. Shot on the left was from 7.5ft, then 15ft, then 30ft. At 30ft, I could barely, just barely make out the pattern on the flat white door onto which I was projecting the pattern.

The camera exposure was:  ISO:3200, aparture: f1.4, exposure: 1/40

Again I must stress, there was VERY little light on that door from 30ft away, however the AF sensor on the camera locked in an instant. Maybe took a fraction of a second longer then from the 15ft distance, but it was hard to say.

I can hardly believe that such little amount of light can produce such a focus lock on a flat color (white) door in total darkness.

I took out my 420EX flash and fired the AF assist light (was not able to capture it since the flash was on the camera, and the light goes off once AF is achieved) and the light is much brighter. Maybe 1-2 stops brighter from 30ft. Maybe I need to use a lower value resistor to get more power out of the LED that came with the 540ez lens, or just replace it with a brighter LED.

Either way, it looks like adding contrast is MUCH more effective then just adding light to help the AF sensor focus and the idea of using a flash AF assist lens is looking much more promising then the laser pointer idea.

The 540ez lens module is kind of bulky. I would prefer it to be a little slimmer. The AF assist lights in my 420ex is made of 2 side by side lenses which are a better size. Will need to scope out some of those lenses.