I will comment on the Jamis Aurora since I have experience with it. Before being taken out by a car I had put approx 10K miles on it... Including one cross country trip and many local tours. One thing I would say about the Jamis is that it's priced well or at least it used to be but haven't looked at it's pricing as of late.
The wheels are decent if you keep an eye on them for the first few weeks, months. When they settle down they should serve you well.
The frame is decent but pretty flexy in the rear when I compare it to my Novara Randonee that is much stiffer in the rear when standing. I'm comparing those two with the same Tubus rear rack. Best to use a Tubus Logo if you go Jamis since the chainstays are pretty short. If you have bigger feet you will run into issues. The Jamis does have a good warranty and dealer support.
It's not as smooth as my Novara in my opinion. After having the two.... I would always pick the Novara over the Jamis now that I have several thousand miles on it. Seems like you can't purchase them now since REI seems to be selling the Surly LHT'r.