I would say no larger than 44mm too. Perhaps you may want to consider Ti Luminor series... You've got a few to choose for PAM089, PAM036, PAM177 or david's PAM082.
I think the darker the case, the smaller it looks on. TI would definitely be better than SS... I am going for a PVD myself. I like 40mm Pams the way they look, but I really don't like automatic watches... (I realized over last year...)