My new bike has mechanical disc brakes and I was astounded at how much more quickly I could stop the bike compared to my other two bikes; one is a hybrid with v-brakes, and the other an old MTB with cantis. Keep in mind that if you want a drop-bar bike then, from what I understand, you are limited to mechanical disc brakes because no one has developed hydraulics for drop bars as of yet. My bike has Shimano brakes but from what I hear the Avid BB7's are great, too. I rode my v-braked hybrid through last winter and for the most part they worked just fine. There were a few days, however, that I had some scary moments and I found myself wishing for discs. There, that's my 2 cents on disc brakes.

I too am impressed with the Jamis Aurora and the Raleigh Sojourn. I've had touring bikes on my radar for awhile now and both of those have caught my eye. Another set-up that you may want to consider, since your budget has increased due to your loving wife (buy her some flowers, BTW), is building up a bike with the Soma Double Cross DC. When I reach my next weight loss goal I am panning a build with this frameset myself, but with more road-oriented (Shimano 105) components. You, however, could set up this same bike with touring components and get exactly what you want.

Another bike that I really like (on paper) is the GT Peace Tour. It's a more budget-oriented bike but still meets most, if not all of your stated criteria. Think of all the upgrades and accessories you could buy with all that extra money!

Happy hunting!