Receivers won't sound sharp if they are designed correctly. I would not call Axiom's larger speakers chunky, but I guess your saying you don't want floor standing, then you have your answer. The M22's with a good sub like the 350 should be fine in that room. For most situation, understanding that the Axioms require little power to play pretty loud, any decent receiver will do this unless you have a very large room and play it very loud beyond the receivers capability.
As long as the receiver has the features your looking for, and fits your budget you should be fine.
