Hmm well Winters Fury might be a good pick for that list.
https://wiki.project1999.com/Winters_Fury
Also an Edge of the Nightwalker
https://wiki.project1999.com/Edge_of_the_Nightwalker
But Scimitar of the Emerald Dawn seems to be a good pick too. And your 2 picks are indeed decent choices if you're on a budget. I like your battle bard idea.
On my bard I too try and do as much melee as I can while still twisting all the songs my group needs. I find it more fun to play that way compared to just sitting next to the casters and playing the songs without meleeing.
If you ever get your epic i'd be interested in seeing what kind of damage you can do when it procs solo with a blam stick and epic OH.
__________________
“The fundamental question is, will I be as effective as a boss like my dad was? And I will be, even more so. But until I am, it's going to be hard to verify that I think I'll be more effective.“- Little Carmine