Here's one possible solution to the Power of the Atom quest, or at least part of it. If you are a female character and have the Black Widow perk, you get an unique dialog option when talking to Mr Burke. This causes Mr Burke to lose track of his purpose and he'll wander away from Megaton. Later on, he starts sending you creepy love letters.

There's a small handful of other ways to deal with the bomb and/or Mr Burke. Some of them result in the death of Megaton's sheriff, or the death of Mr Burke, or your death at the hands of some hired goons down the road. Or even the death of (nearly) everyone in Megaton if you cause the device to explode.

I generally take the Black Widow method for the amusement factor of the love letters along with the eventual hit squads of mercenaries.