A couple more questions, before I start giving opinons:

1) How far is your commute going to be?

2) Where do you live? (go fill out your profile) Winters are drastically different from place to place.

3) How is the terrain? Hilly or flat? Is it windy there?

One thing to think of is that disc brakes are better in the wet than rim brakes, so discs might actually be preferred.

I just sold my much older comfort hybrid last night. I'm "shocked" at how much better the shock-absorbing seatpost made the ride. My wife's bike has the front shocks, and there is also a noticable difference there. The Giant Cypress is going to by far be the most comfortable: more upright seating, shock seatpost & front shocks, and since it has narrower tires, it is going to be just as fast as the others, if not more so. However, they look like road tires, so it will be much worse in the snow.