Maya's normal map baker is not "atrocious". It works very well. Your issue isn't with the baking software, it's how to create the pore detail in the first place. Antweiler offered several options for you. Xnormal is free software specifically used for baking various maps, including normal maps, but the others all cost…
I've been looking at them, they are pretty usefull. And thank you for the tutorial! It is useful. As for Maya...the UV baking just doesnt seem to work well on lips..They turn into splotches of doom and despair! Edit:Hand made normal map-