Everyone seems to love the Forschner Fibrox and Rosewood series (same blade). I've got a four rosewoods. A straight parer, a drop point parer, a tournee and a fillet knife. I keep the fillet, which is super flexible in my block. The smaller ones are scattered strategically.
The fibrox handles dominate the meat industry and are very popular in commercial kitchens too -- it's one of the few blades worth resharpening that comes on a handle that can go into a commercial dishwasher, at a reasonable price. Because I don't have to worry about dishwashers or theft, I prefer the rosewood. You can keep the handles looking good forever with a little mineral oil three or four times a year.
If you're shopping for something interesting and idiosyncratic you could try Warther. They are very hip. Good knives too.
I'm not familiar at all with JB's Rada knives. They look interesting.
The rap on all of these compared to more expensive Euro styles is that they don't have bolsters. Personally, I don't think that's a big deal as long as the knife balances right for the way you hold and use it.
I'd be careful about using a diamond steel as a "steel." The purpose of steeling is edge straightening and repair. Diamond steels are awfully aggressive and remove a lot of material, ultimately messing up your knives. An extra-fine or "glass smooth" steel is much better as long as it's harder than your knives. Take a look at the steels at HandAmerica, and see what you think.
http://www.handamerican.com/steel3.html
For the life of me, I can't figure out what the big deal is about santokus. But people really love them, especially women. Maybe it has something to do with hand size. Helen, if I were going to pair a parer with your Wustie I think I'd be looking at two Forschner Rosewoods. One, a straight paring knife for food, and one for string, cryovac packages and other utility work around the kitchen. For a Few Dollars More, get a Forschner for the utility stuff, and a Thiers Issard stainless paring knife. Very nice.
I've had Chef's Choice machines. They're as good as machines get. In fact pretty much everything from Chef's Choice is great. I switched back to stones partly because I wanted to be able to control the bevels, and because I wanted more control of degree of polish on the edge. Different bevels and polishes for different knives. It's a geek thing.
If I were recommending a sharpening method for someone who doesn't want to pay for a Chef's Choice machine. and who doesn't want to learn to freehand, but is willing to use a steel regularly, it's the "crock stick" systems from Spyderco and Lansky. If you're not willing to use, or don't want to learn how to use a steel properly you might want to look at the Chef's Choice "pull through" sharpener and steel. If you don't care about handing your knives down to your children and just want something easy, check out the Chantry. It will eat your knives, but they'll die sharp by God.
Rich