First off I will be totally honest.... There is not really enough room under a first gen amigo to do what you want.

Alright now that thats out of the way, you can do it, but prepare for compromises.

Pick an axle, you say 44, are you sure. Dan used the 80 series axle for a very good reason, and I would encourage you to look into using the same axle. If you insist on a 44, then you REALLY want a HP unit, which means custom.
You can use a LP axle if you want, but you will have to compromise to do so.

Axle mounting methods. I would lean towards a 4 link with a panhard bar. This will give you the best of both worlds, which is what you want. Any trade off in flex will be worth the added road maners. use a coil-over 12" stroke.

For a leaf sprung rig I would take a hard look at Fernando's. It is really the best all around working first gen amigo that I have seen using leaf springs. I think his set-up really strikes the balance that you say you are looking for.
One word on leaf springs, I have always liked the stock isuzu springs. I have been running them on my rig front and back since the beginning, and don't really think there is any advantage to using something else.

Gotta go for now, let me know if my early morning giberish makes any sense.