To my eyes, they're ugly, overdesigned,
As an owner of a beautifully fugly BR brief, I totally agree! However, to my eye most (if not all) non leather/canvas laptop cases fit this description. The redeeming quality of the BR bags is that when they break in, their look softens, especially when not packed full.
The op mentioned liking the Quadrion which google suggests clocks in at 1.4KG. It's difficult to find a reasonably good looking laptop brief given the weight constraint.