Enigmundia: A List of Ingredients II

Who are the nations in the neighborhood of the state that will be the focal point of the setting? Again, I'm drawing most of my inspiration from the neighbors of GAZ1's Karameikos. Here's the list, broken down into Yes, No, and Maybe (with changes). And I'll probably rename them accordingly to avoid issues with the canon police.

Yes! I Choose You!

• Alfheim -- we need a good elvish home, not necessarily where it is now. I do like the fact that it's not adjacent to Karameikos, but near enough to run to for adventures or aid. I have some plans for the Aelves of the world more in keeping with the mysterious tone I've chosen, but nothing's set in stone yet. Speaking of stone...
• Rockhome -- we need  a good underground dwarven racial home, not necessarily where it is now. I was also particularly fond of the rationale that they came up for Dwarven City geomorphs (when dwarves design something, the make it good the first time and replicate it across all cities), so that's going in somehow.
• Thyatis -- probably adjacent, but tenuously so. I'd like my version of Karameikos to be something between a colony and a kingdom on the marches (the marquises were in charge of the marches / marshes / borders of kingdoms and empires and had the unenviable task of guarding their borders, which were also the borders of the nation).
• Yluaram -- a place obviously inspired by islamic arabia is useful, though not necessarily right on the borders of the state. Near enough to have also converted some of the communities and have some ties to the colony / duchy / whatever. 

Maybe With Some Changes

• Five Shires -- we need a good hin home... nah. This one is really too tied to the whole LOTR kit & kaboodle. I want to have the hin mixed in more with my Karameikos, and the Five Shires as the ancestral homelands but (1) the Black Eagle Baron has the unenviable task of claiming land granted to him by the Grand Duke and the Emperor from the Hin who already live there, thank you very much; (2) the other portions of the Five Shires are outside of the remit of the Empire; (3) Alfheim and Rockhome have come down hard -- diplomatically -- on any designs to extend the borders of Thyatis into those 'other portions' of the shire, for reasons they've been notoriously tight-lipped about.
• Minrothad Guilds -- I like the general shape of the guilds and the idea that there are other nations besides Thyatis, and I like the potential for the eventual Freeport insertion I plan to do, but there's something about the culture that rubs me wrong for some reason.
• Republic of Darokin -- same as Minrothad Guilds, but perhaps situated differently. Much like the Majestic Wilderlands, I'd like there to be contested / unclaimed lands between the nations of the Known World.

No! Absolutely Not

• Kingdom of Ierendi -- replacing this with Freeport and the Lendore Isles somehow, some way. It really just didn't work for me. Plus, this space will help me work on the reputation of the Isle of Dread, my plans for injecting some Cthulhu stuff that will hopefully tie into the Black Eagle Barony and the long history of sea-based defenses for the folks of the region.