You can use http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/10763 to change just about anything about your HUD. You can reposition elements, make them larger or smaller, ect.
For instance, when I used it I shrank my compass down to a tiny fraction of its size and put it way down in the lower right-hand side of my screen, out of the way. That way, I still had access to a compass but only to the basic north-south directions and only when I chose to look at it.
The amount of things you can do with DarN is almost inexhaustible. I highly recommend it.