I would look at the following:
Athlon Helos 2-12. Light-ish, locking turrets if I remember right, compact, should be as good as anything priced comparably.
Burris Veracity 2-10 (or 3-15 if that mag range suits you better). Same as above, minus locking turrets. Capped windage and exposed elevation available. Perhaps a better track record of reliability since it's been around for a while. May need to shop sales or buy used to get one in your price range.
If you didn't mind SFP, the Leupold VX3 HD 3.5-10 has great glass, capped windage, low profile, locking elevation turret. There are some questions about tracking and reliability with that scope that I hesitate to wade into, failures have been reported by folks whose reputation I trust. There's also an absolute ton of them on hunting rifles across the country so a small percentage of failures is still a large number of people complaining online.
If you shop carefully you might should be able to find a VX5 HD 2-10 or possibly a 3-15 (again, on sale or used). These have a better reputation on tracking and reliability than the VX3, get you another turn on your elevation turret, etc.
I would also take a used Bushnell elite 4500 or 6500 over the tactical scopes you have listed.
I have an Athlon Ares on my long range hunting rig, I would choose something different (and did pick up a Bushnell LRHS to replace it with). I see the SE, Venom, and DB Tactical as having even more of what I dislike about the Ares (weight, bulk, big exposed turrets that can get hung up and accidentally spun when strapped or slung on a backpack, etc.) as well as a less useful magnification range for most hunting applications.
You don't need 25x to shoot animals at 500, I prefer 8-10x even when I have more available magnification. It lets me be more aware of what's going on around the animal, watch my impact, and follow the animal after the shot. 5x can definitely be more magnification than you want for a close shot.