I think the idea of brisk pine and creamy/woody sandalwood is a good one. I'll have to give that more thought.
As you say, sandalwood and cedar often are put together. So some suggestions are CdG Kyoto (cypress + cedar) and its drier sibling, Hinoki.
If you sort of like R&G Open, have you tried L'Homme? I like it slightly more than Open.
Cheers, ody