Just my 2 cents worth of opinion, being a new owner of an entry level hybrid, with a background of riding road bikes:
Hybrid bikes try to do two things: road and off-road. They are not great for either, but they are pretty good at both. A road bike is not a usually a great commuting and errand bike (particularly the high end ones, hauling computer and/or groceries). A mountain bike is not great for road riding. A hybrid will do paved roads and dirt/gravel roads. If you are going to ride in a group of guys with road bikes, you likely won't be able to keep up, even on a carbon hybrid (although I haven't ridden one).

I've been riding my Novara Safari from REI for 5 weeks or so. (My other bikes are all sport road bikes but I've been away from cycling for a long time.) It is a heavy bike (30 lbs with rear rack) but I'm having fun. I'm slower than I used to be on my road bike but it doesn't matter; I'm not keeping up with anyone. If I inflate the wide tires (28x1.6) to max pressure, it feels like I am going fast and many times on my ride I am going fairly fast. I bought this bike for its load carrying ability and comfortable long tour potential, plus it was on sale 30% off. If I decide I really need a lighter bike I can always sell this one, but it suits my purpose: getting back into shape and then long touring. I will keep it for a while and really put some miles on it. It would work for commuting and errands; the wide tires are comfy and overall the bike seems bulletproof. The trekking handlebars are pretty functional. I rotated them so the bar is flat: the same height front and back. I usually sit fairly upright at about a 60 degree angle holding the section closest to me, but I can lean forward and grab the forward part of the bar for pushing into a headwind.