Dean Welcome
Looks like you have already made some good choices, I'll agree with the others as to staying with the 5.1, I would go with the EP500 because of the size and the fact that you probably won't feel the need to upgrade it in the future.
Logitech makes a good Universal Remote, cables monoprice or Bluejeans, if you plan on adding a game sytem I would go with the Xbox 360 and add the HDDVD drive for HD movies {small expense to get into HD) Just my 2 cents, good luck with your choices.

A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.