OK you have some ideas now.

Time to find out what size bike you need, then test-ride a bunch of bikes to see how they feel.

Why not try a LHT and a Crosscheck, seeing as they are both available as complete bikes through your shop, then try a light road bike and see what you prefer.

You can then at least say "right, no heavy tourers" or "OK, I prefer the touring geometry after all".

I think you've gotten all the useful general advice you can from this thread, we're starting to get into a bunfight between "light and fast" vs. "fully loaded and prepared for everything". Here's a link to someone who's gone further than most on light bikes: http://www2.arnes.si/~ikovse/bikes.htm