I've been using AVG 8 Free Edition with uTorrent for ever and never had any problems, when you're downloading torrents the only way to get infected is to download infected files. Therefore the only way you can get infected is if you personally choose to download a "shady" file and it ends up being infected. Only download torrents from trusted websites, and scan the downloaded files after they're downloaded before using them as stated above.
Also, try and "Seed" the files you download. When you're downloading on uTorrent you will have a section labeled "Ratio", this is the ratio of data that you have downloaded/uploaded to people. If you're able to keep the torrent running until your ratio is 1.00 people will have no problems with you, people who download torrents and then stop before uploading to other people have low ratios (under 0.8 usually). These people that download and then stop are called "leachers" and only serve to slow down the speed of the torrent download for everyone else. So help the community help you by downloading and then SEEDING (keeping the torrent running) until you have AT LEAST a 0.5-1.0 ratio!