Bedtime battles

Micah and Noah have been having a very hard time going to bed for the last couple of months. They usually cry for at least 10 minutes, and often much longer, after I put them to bed. It isn't anything like Micah's crazy tantrums right after Samantha was born, but it is still pretty frustrating. I feel like I have tried everything with no results. I sing to them, read them stories, lay with them for 10-15 minutes, play primary songs etc etc...they still just cry and cry when I leave. So, I try the opposite (which makes me feel like an awful mother), and just let them cry / ignore them. I've also tried putting them back on their bed every time they get off, but that just goes on for hours...and seems to just make them more frustrated b/c I don't talk to them and they get really mad instead of just crying. Anyway, it is very exasperating.

Our newest idea was to get them night lights and flashlights that they only get at bedtime. I've hesitated to do this b/c I don't want them to need a night light for the rest of their lives and they have slept find without one. Their room is really light at night b/c there is a lamp right outside their window. But, we finally gave in and tried it.

We took them to the dollar store and let them pick out just what they wanted. Well, they didn't cry at all: they just turned the light off and on and off and on and off and on until they broke and then they cried. The flashlights helped for few more night until they figured out how to unscrew those and broke them as well. Then it was just back to the same old thing. Any other ideas?