After much research on this and other forums, i finally pulled the trigger on mods i have been eyeing for a while. First, I got the RRO leveling kit installed, which I thought about doing myself but ended up just having a shop do. The install was a challenge for them they said but it seems they did an OK job.
Next up was a set of 17 inch Unique 297's wrapped in 265/17/70 General Grabber AT/S's from Discount tire. At only $167 a tire this was a heck of a deal and I really like so far (thanks again nasmith342 for the help!). Not really pleased that Discount Tire put external weights on the rims to balance them, but a tech there said they balance better if installed that way..... Not sure I buy it.
To provide a little follow up info on the wheels, thought they look really nice I feel like I need to keep a close look on the potential for rubbing if going off-roading. This is a TIGHT fit for these rims and tires in the front; with the offset of these rims and the the width of these tires I'm cutting it real close on functionality. As can be seen in the attached pic, the tires do rub a bit on the felt liner covering the pinch-weld in the wheel well. However the liner material has been wet and weighted down a bit so it is drooping down a little more in the arc of the tire's turning space. But my concern is if I hit a big bump in a turn I am going to bang the tire up against the pinch weld and damage something. I may be worrying about it too much but I am going to definitely keep an eye on it.