We camp from the spring to the fall and really like the large mesh ceiling on our tent. On our last camping trip, the weather forecast was dry and warm, so we took off the fly (for the first time!) and slept looking up at the stars. It was rather awesome. Also, we got a tent with a floored screened section. Hubby and I sleep on that side and if I unzip everything, I am basically in a screen tent. Awesome...especially during the day. We have taken it camping in weather as cool as the 30s (lower than that would be too cold for our equipment) and we have been fine in our giant tent.
That said, in your area, it sounds like you need more warmth and wind protection, etc so go for those models with a full fly that go right down to the ground.
As for brands, there are so many out there. Since we car camp, I have been very satisfied with my Coleman. Prior to our current tent (bought last year), we had picked up a Coleman at a yard sale that lasted us 10 years (that thing must have been 12-15 years old by then!). We lost the fly pretty quickly so we just used a 10x10 tarp as the fly. That was cheap to replace when it got worn out. My DH still grumbles about wanting to tarp our new tent but I put my foot down on that one lol. The biggest reason we replaced our old tent (still useable although the floor leaks a little and the walls have small holes from ash) was so we would have a rainfly that worked.