Can't go wrong with Kala in general. I like the solid spruce top tenor! Great acoustic tone and nice plugged in. But it is a bit snappy, which from your description is not what you are looking for. The archtop is nice too, but not as loud acoustically, but mellower than the solid spruce top. Plugged in not much difference I thought. The mango hasn't got as much projection. Out of the Kalas, from what you said, you might be looking for that archtop...
Ohana, all ukes a great value for money, IMO tone is better than most (if not all) others in that price range. They do an all-solid mahogany tenor that fits within your budget. The koa tenor is nice too, even though laminated, I think it sounds better than many solid-tops! The Ohana neck is a bit chunkier than the Kalas - so that is something you gotta like.
For a tone-monster, go for a Fluke! This uke is louder than all others, has a nice tone and looks cool! But tone is quite crisp, so maybe not mellow enough. And perhaps a bit out of your budget range?
I think they all of these are all nicer-sounding than Lanikai.