Is it too late to post?
. Another consideration not on your list is Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion series. Curse of the Chalion and its sequel, Paladin of Souls, are both excellent. Paladin won the Hugo, Locus, and Nebula best Novel awards and Curse was nominated for the Hugo and Locus. They aren't realy dark like Martin's series but there is a good pantheon and interesting world depth and characters.
If you want quirky non-standard for the genre, check out Sheri S. Tepper. Though she may technically be SF... her books are more about worlds and characters and humanity itself than technology, which appeals to my inner anthropologist.