Probably the most durable rim I've ever used was the mavic MA-40, a box section rim, quite similar to the MA3. They aren't aero, just simple, strong rims. No machined braking surface either. Nashbar has them for 35 bucks a piece as well.

Unlike a lot of people here, I haven't had good luck with the Velocitys. I trashed a deep v in under a year, but chalked it up to a poor wheel build. A friend of mine had a deep v crack at the seam, on a brakeless track bike. He contacted velocity, who replaced them free of charge, but with a different rim because according to them the deep v rims aren't meant for messenger/street use. This was probably at least five years ago, so maybe the quality has improved the past couple years.

All that aside, I like the aesthetics of aero rims as well. I've had great luck with the Mavic cxp 30, and the cxp33.