I think you proved your need for a compact--you wanted the 34x26 for at least one hill you regularly climb. What about swapping from 34/50 to 36/52? Not quite as deep for the hills, yet keeps the aforementioned (possible) 16T FD limitation in check.

My only thought is that the steps on the 11-26 might feel too big then--since all the gears would go up by 6% (in the 36) or 4% (in the 52).