For SCT compactness/portability and APO-like views Maksutov-Cassegrains are also to be considered.
Some 12 or 13 years ago, when I got back into observing I faced the same set of conundrums as Vi. I ended up buying an Intes MK67 from Claude at AEC and haven't regretted it for one second. These days we also have an ED80 and Dobs on the house but the Mak is my first pick virtually all the time.
If you want to go down the Mak route I'd advise to forgo the cheap silver-spot secondary types and go for the RuMak design with separate (and collimatable!) secondary, like the Russians make them. They deliver breathtaking, contrasty and flat-field views and seem to punch way above their aperture.
Incidentally, Claude has the Intes-Micro Alter M603 on special right now
(no affiliation other than being a happy customer).
If I lived under dark skies I'd have a gigantic Dob in the backyard under a roll-off shed. But as things stand I have to travel to get reasonable skies, and for that a big bucket is not very practical. That said, I'm considering one of those collapsible SkyWatcher GoTo Dobs in 12" or more, but for the two nights per year it would be useful the price is still a bit high…
Cheers
Steffen.