Geez, I hate to disagree with Joe -- kind of like arguing with Einstein about general relativity. But I will. I'm also going to argue with you, fnmag. I guess I'm just cranky this morning. I personally think the wave feature is close to worthless. If you practice with it constantly, you can open it faster than other knives, but you increase the chance of dropping it during a high-stress situation. (The approach to the draw and mount is critical and requires a calm concentration, something you are not likely to possess when under attack.) Plus, to open the knife with the wave, you have to pull the knife backwards, away from the attack. An axis lock is faster to open AND deploy than a wave. But a good thumb hole or stud is nearly as good.
The Endura is a great knife, especially for the money. I don't mind the plastic handle.
But, the Military is better, with it's long, pointy, flat-ground blade. I cuts better. It penetrates better. It's stronger. I know, fnmag, you don't like liners from reading on the internet, but the Military has an excellent liner that is easy to use and very strong. If you're worried about breaking this liner, you probably should have a fixed blade. The Manix would be a great choice if you don't mind the size and need an extremely strong folder: It's pretty big in the pocket. The Benchmade Rukus is a wonderful knife that is very fast to open (axis lock and heavy blade), but it has a thumb stud. I don't know why you don't like thumb studs, but this knife is so smooth and easy to open that I don't think you should ignore it.
Knives are a gestalt kind of thing -- more than the sum of their parts. If you go about making a laundry list of preferred features, and only considering knives with all those features, you are going to miss out the the best knives that manage to blend whatever set of features they have into a knife that is fun and easy and effective to deploy and use. And you can find a knife that has all the features you want and is a stinker to use. A knife is a package of design features that are, in the best cases, designed to work together.
Bottom line: I like your list of required features, as separate features, but the knife that works best for me is the Spyderco Military. I think you can still get the limited run Military in BG-42 steel and carbon fiber handles and beefed up liner lock and stay within you budget. The Manix would be my next choice if you place a premium on sheer strength. The Rukus would be my choice if pure speed of opening is most important.