I've had my eye on the Gary Fisher "dual sport" line for a while, and they sound like they could work for you as well. They have a front suspension with I think 60+cm of travel, which will help your ride, but I believe it's firm enough to not get pedal bob (and the forks have lockouts as well). Also, the components are designed to not suck when riding on the road, meaning you won't be spinning out in high gear. They also have 700C wheels, which would help on potholes.
There's three bikes in the series - Kaitai, Utopia, and Montare, with varying levels of componentry. I believe they run between $500 and $1000.
If you decide not to get the suspension, you could just get a carbon-fork hybrid from about any manufacturer.