Welcome to the forum.
There is no perfect cooler. And unfortunately yes, I think asking for all those things in the $150 to $250 USD range is too much. If you had asked for proper humidity control as well, it would absolutely be too much to ask. The biggest problem, besides inadequate humidity for cheese aging, seems to be temperature control on these small units. If you get one that is accurate, consider yourself lucky.
I contemplated, but didn't buy, the
Danby DWC350BLP. There are coolers from several merchants in the same general size and price range. For cheese aging, this one has the advantage of flat wire shelves rather than the scalloped bottle-shaped shelves. You have more usable space with flat shelves. The shelves are also removable, which is nice. You'll need to remove some shelves sometimes for larger cheeses or mini-caves. Some brands don't have removable shelves. This Danby model also has a compressor for cooling, which is generally more reliable than thermoelectric cooling. If I were going to buy a unit of this type for dual cheese aging and wine storage, I'd probably go for this model. However, be sure to read all the customer reviews on various sites. Many people comment on the poor temperature control.
I ended up buying a Danby 4.4 cubic foot small refrigerator and a Ranco ETC-111000-000 controller instead. The
DAR440BL was $179 from the Walmart online store, I believe. I had it shipped to a local Walmart, which eliminated shipping charges. With the Ranco controller, another $50, it was in about the same price range of the Danby 35 bottle wine cooler. Since I had no interest in storing wine in it, the refrigerator, which reportedly had better cooling capacity, made more sense to me.
If I'd have had space to fit another full size refrigerator for cheese aging anywhere in my house or garage, I'd have gone that route instead.
If you go with a refrigerator, get one without a freezer. The freezers just take up space and often bring other problems, like uneven cooling and excess condensation.
Please note that I'm not recommending the Danby DWC350BLP. I ended up not buying it, and I've never seen one in person. But had I decided to buy a wine cooler in that size, that is the one I'd have bought.
By the way, here is
My new cave.
Also, you may find some of the links in
this post useful.