I consider those bikes to be hybrids. There are very few bikes that look have same specs as drop bar road bikes except for the drop vs flat bars. I see quite a few people in the hybrid forum that are purchase a flat bar hybrid and six months later are upgrading to a drop bar road bike. I recommend test riding a drop bar bike. The Crossrip is new this year, which is why you haven't heard much about it, and that bike would be discussed in the Hybrid and/or Commuting forums, not the Road bike forum.
The bikes you mention are all pretty popular in Hybrid forum.