I think all of your choices are very good-
Like I said, that article has a lot of hype. You have to keep in mind that severe rear impacts are very rare and that children in carseats have good protection and are less likely to load the seat. A small child isn't likely to cause a seat failure, and their carseat is going to keep them from being ejected and protect their head from intrusion. There are no guarantees, of course, if a large bus hits you in the rear doing 60 mph, that is likely to be unsurvivable in any vehicle's third row seat...
Sure, you can get a Suburban, but there are safety issues with that as well. To start, they have inferior handling and braking. The higher rollover risk is a major concern. Stiff truck frames do not crush, and do not perform well in crashes with other large trucks and SUVs or in single vehicle crashes with walls or poles. Many large SUVs lack some of the advanced safety features found in cars and minivans, and most don't have a complete set of crash tests. An extra foot of space to the rear does not even come close to outweighing these other factors for me. On the other hand, if you regularly tow over a couple thousand pounds or do SERIOUS off-roading, something like a Suburban or Expedition is a much better choice.
I think you should test drive the vehicles you mentioned. If the rear seat concerns you, keep your booster-aged 4 year old in a high back booster or something like a Britax Super Elite. Otherwise, keep them in the second row.
In regard to safety, the Odyssey and Sienna are top of the pack for crashworthiness. The MDX also has great ratings so far, but the NHTSA frontal crash tests are not yet published. The Pilot should be similar to these, since it is based on the same chassis as both Odyssey and MDX. Grand Caravan also does reasonably well, though not quite as well as the Odyssey or Sienna. The IIHS gave it a marginal offset crash test rating unless it is equipped with the optional side airbags, then it gets an Acceptable rating. Overall, I think all these vehicles will be safer than almost any sedan on the road. Depending on your particular driving circumstances, they may be among the safest vehicles, period.
The minivans are going to be more comfortable for 6 adults, especially in the third row. Rear seat access is also usually easier in the minivan. Since your 6 includes kids, the SUVs you mentioned will have plenty of room for them in the rear seats.
I don't think any of these will average over 20 mpg in the city, though the 2WD minivans might be close. All should be above that on the highway.
AWD is nice. We have a Subaru Outback with a great AWD system and a limited slip in the rear. Excellent traction in just about any conditions. Even so, our Odyssey with traction control has never had a problem, even in snow (Chicago area). With a set of good snow or rain tires, I think a front wheel drive with traction control is a very good poor weather vehicle, though it certainly won't be up to anything more than light offroading.
The 2003 Expedition is an interesting choice. The wider track adds stability. The independent rear suspension should improve handling. It has a very interesting rollover protection system. I believe it has shoulder belts and head rests in all seating positions. It also has advanced seatbelts and airbags. Of all the large SUVs, the new 2003 Expedition might be the only one I would even consider if I ever did serious towing or offroading. While they look big, the cargo room really isn't all that much bigger than a large minivan, and I doubt the space from the third row to the back is significantly greater, either. At least it wasn't for 2001. Suburban and Excursion are definately bigger, though. Of course, I'd also expect not much over 10 mpg in the city in real-life, whereas my Odyssey gets about 19mpg.
Also see our minivan guide:
www.car-safety.org/minivan.html
And my review of the Honda Pilot:
www.epinions.com/content_66243956356
Good luck!
Darren