I'll concentrate on the aesthetic considerations for the front main speakers, as I'm sure others would be better able to answer the other questions.

For the fronts, I think the StudioTech SS would be best. That, or the ones available on the Ascend site, just not the Atlantic ones. The reason being has to do with scale. The 170s are fairly small speakers, at least in relation to the bookshelf speakers pictured in the stock photos for those stands. The Atlantic stands have one more vertical tube than the StudioTechs and the tubes look spread out a little more too. The Ascend 170 would look overwhelmed by the dimensions of that stand, IMHO.

Kinda like using a brick as a paperweight. Overkill.