ROM Manager - What Is It's Purpose?

I just finished rooting my phone (Moto Droid) for the first time using the z4root application. It worked great (one-click, no computer involved). However, before I start messing with my phone, I wanted to make a backup of my phone so, in case I really screw up royally, I can easily recover back to a certain point (AKA - I don't want to brick my phone). As I was reading, I started hearing about Nandroid backups. However, it seems as though you need to install some sort of ROM in order for it to happen. I checked into that and heard about ROM Manager. Apparently some of the mods that come with the ROM Manager are able to setup the Nandroid backup. I have a couple questions first, however. 1. I noticed ROM Manager needs a lot of access to your contacts, accounts, etc. Is that because it's doing a full backup, or something else nefarious? (Yeah, I'm suspicious.) 2. Is there an easier way to back-up? I don't really care about a new ROM (such as CynogenMod). I just wanted root access for a couple, very specific reasons. 3. If Nandroid is the only good/correct way to backup a phone, am I going down the right path/process? Anything I should look into before I keep going (such as Titanium Backup )? Thanks for any help you can provide.