Thanks for all the comments so far. I keep going back and forth between the photos and trying to pick.
Sadly, there are no black tie events in my life. Outside of the ruckus, my GSS and mixed GSS & WSS strands will be worn primarily with my work suits and maybe occasionally with a simple dress for dinner. The Gellner style necklace will be worn with sundresses, tees and jeans, and business casual.
I like the look of simple, plain metal (no diamond) settings with Tahitians and white pearls, but not with gold pearls. I have saved lots of pictures, and I just don't like the way plain yellow or white gold looks next to dark gold pearls without diamonds or other gemstones. I want the earring settings to be yellow gold because the orbit clasps on my strands are matte 14k yellow gold, and they are visible when I link the 2 stands together as a rope. I love Icyjade's huggies and drops, so I have considered that style, but have not yet found a pair of YG huggies I really like that are not too pricey.
I like the idea of #1 -- being able to have a separate pair of studs to wear alone or with other drops. They also remind me a little of a pair of Betty Draper WSS dangle earrings I loved on Mad Men.
2a or 2b or something similar might be a better choice for strands and suits. I do love bezeled diamonds, but that might be tough with the matte finish leverback. If I go with the bezel, I should probably find a nice polished 18k YG leverback to combine with a matching bezel. The prong set diamond could work with either matte or polished leverbacks.
I am still looking around to see other options. Sadly, I cannot get all the photos to load on the KGH website, since they have over 100 earring settings for pearls.
I usually like earrings with movement, but the lines of these Bunda earrings really appeal to me:
I like the shape and movement of the PP Dew setting that Icyjade used for her gorgeous GSS drops, but for me I would like the top part of the setting to be longer so it extends below the earlobe before the bezeled diamond.
This setting from KGH has made me consider setting my .22 ct diamonds as bezeled studs, with jackets that have a smaller bezeled diamond and the pearl right below.