Towns outside Lyon....where to live?

We are moving from Canada to an area near Lyon. We do not want a large metropolis city, but rather something smaller, but still accessible to Lyon when we want larger city atmosphere.  Walking distance to market, butcher, dry cleaner, restaurants, bakeries is necessary. My husband will be traveling throughout Europe for work and although we will have a vehicle, walking distance is a must. We are looking at renting a house for the first year. We would like a yard (dog) with 3 or 3+ bedrooms. Proximity to schools is not necessary as our youngest is 21.  We are looking at Ecully, Limonest, Tassin la Demi Lune, Dardilly, Saint Cyr au Mont D'or.  Any suggestions on where to move to?  We will be coming over in January to look for homes.  We do have a relocation specialist but I would like some expat opinions if possible.  Thanks!