I have a set of Axiom Seymour 45s and love em. I use them for around town and weekend rides. Haven't used them for more than 3 day rides though. Only mention that since I haven't gone thru rain with them.
They attach really well, detach quickly, are easy to pack, rugged, etc. The company sells rain covers for $20 or so.
Bring garbage bags and grocery bags. You can use the garbage bags as a liner for the panniers. And the grocery bags are always useful for separating wet from dry stuff.
As for a sleep pad, I have used the ALPS comfort pad you mention and it's good, but too large and heavy for my taste when packed on a bike.
I need a long sized mat and it comes in at 4pounds and 26" in length. That's too heavy and big when packed for me.
ALPS makes an ultralight self inflating pad which weighs only 2 pounds but is still just as wide when packed.
I currently use a couple of mats.
-ALPS Feather liter air mat. Weighs 1.5pounds and is 12 long when packed. That's for the long version. I love it. 25 puffs and it's filled, it's plenty thick, and the seams go across the body instead of the long way.
The only downside is an r value of 1. I'm OK with that as I don't camp or tour when it's below freezing.
-Thermarest NeoAir Venture. It too is a long, so its also 25" wide. It has an r value of 2, which is low, but again it doesn't apply for me.
Between the two, I like the ALPS more. They are pretty identical though.
Make sure to get a pad that is wide enough for you. My size- I'd hate a pad that's 20" wide.
My family has self inflating pads and air pads. I like the air pads more because they pack smaller.
As for a sleeping bag, the Teton Journey 40deg bag is really light and packs small.
It's a glorified blanket with zippers to control airflow.
I have used it with a bag liner and been comfortable at 40deg I wouldn't use just the bag at that temp, but each person is different.
Buy a generic stuff sack for it. It comes with kne but you will rub your fingers raw trying to fit the bag back in that sack. The original sack can be used for packing random stuff though.