"Also, Haskell & macros don't seem to mix so well, and meta-programming is a big deal for me."
With the ability to manipulate more of the components of your programs in regular code, macros become less important. But if you want to do compile-time metaprogramming in Haskell, Template Haskell is effective - typed or untyped.
I also wanted to push things forward in some aspects, like having the module system, first-class types & having higher interaction with the compiler.
Also, Haskell & macros don't seem to mix so well, and meta-programming is a big deal for me.