Anthony- I knew I could count on you to mention the AA-1 series. From what I've seen of those, wouldn't it be a trivial cost differential to just buy a Cheetah or maybe even a Tiger, then I could capture more of my mission profile (those occasions I need to fill all the seats)?
You really pay a premium for the extra seats and HP, especially in the Tiger. A Cheetah or even a Traveller would be a good compromise though, and you could at least carry three pretty easily. I found the back seats of my Tiger was usually empty or just had bags on the seats, but I did like having the higher performance and load carrying capabilities, but it does come at a cost up front, and to operate (mostly fuel burn).
When I am in the market for another plane, I may try the Mooney M20 series, but I want to get more hours in them.