Umm...Wow...that's a lot to think about.

ESLs such as your Martin Logans crave power. The 1050 puts out a respectable 65 watts per channel. It's nice but I think you're going to be wanting more power than that. This leaves you with a few options. Buy the 1050 and add a M-200 for each of your front two-channels. Or, buy a 1050 and add a 755 or 770 amp. Or, buy a 950/755 or 770 combo. In other words, decide on a pre-amp, add an external amp, and move on from there.

I find the 1050 to be extremely simple to use. It's almost plug and play but not quite. Once it's in your possession, using it and the excellent manual to set it up becomes very easy. In fact, just look at the manual on Outlaw's site for some preliminary information on the 1050's capabilities. The 1050 is getting a little older but it still has all the neccesary connections for basic home theater watching.

Speakers are a personal preference type thing. I've seen some posts on this board of people combining Martin-Logans with Paradigm speakers with good results. I think you would really have to go out and listen to various speaker companies to decide if you like the way they sound. Bring some of your favorite music and have some fun. The center channel sound would be the most difficult to blend with your MLs but I think you could find a decent match. If you can't find a good blend, selling the MLs might not be a bad option.

The 1050 powers speakers the way it wants to. Umm...that's the best way I can describe it. There's really no way for a user to decide how much amplifier power each channel gets nor is there a way to bridge channels together. If you're going for surround, just step in and go all the way!!
You can select on the 1050 if you want to listen to an input in stereo or in surround. It isn't stuck in surround the whole time. The 1050 has a nice crossover system built in for good integration of your mains with a subwoofer even in "2-channel" mode.

I really like my 1050, in case you couldn't tell. A B-stock unit goes for pretty cheap from the factory so take a look!