The problem with samurai stuff is I find the genre unwatchable(*) so am incapable of judging it objectively. I really liked "Samurai Champloo" and still couldn't get past disk one.

I think the only way to deal with these individual differences of taste is a poll, which I will do when the stream of suggestions stops :)

(*) Swordfights almost alway bore me to tears. With some exceptions, but afaict Utena is the only "Fairytale about rescuing a princess where both protagonists are women and there's lots of stabbing of arrogant misogynistic men with swords" anime out there :)