So far my favorite is
PekWM. Very configurable (and no XML like Openbox!), supports tabbing and lots of other nifty things, and is by far the most theme-able WM I've ever seen. I will likely convert to a tiling WM soon, though.
If I had to go with a DE, it'd be E17 (buggy, but slick and faster than Xfce) or Xfce (lightweight and stable, simple compositing). Maybe KDE, maybe... it's masssive and buggy (IMHO), but I really hope it'll get more stable in 4.4, as I end up enjoying it anyways.