While I must say I prefer Higurashi to Elfen Lied, I got rather annoyed when the two were compared. The only similarity they had between each other was a level of gore, and that was only in the main part of the 1st season of Higurashi, then I would see people griping about Kai and saying "Where's the gore?" Urgh, stupid.
But I love both series, and agree that Elfen Lied had some very touching scenes, and plenty of disturbing ones - and frankly, the whole cousin relationship was a bit eeww, but Lucy was another case. You felt bad for her because she was as much a victim as anyone else, and the monstrosity of her was caused more by nurture than nature, but she remained dangerous throughout. Frankly if it was truer to the manga this feeling may not be there - events were changed at the end of the anime as opposed to the manga where things weren't so rosy. Wish they would translate it, all I know comes from folks who have read it and know the differences. Frankly, the anime sounds better in my mind for the way it ended.
As for what I have seen recently, I have been rewatching Rune Soldier, one of my most consistently rewatched animes. It has some of the best voice acting and dialog of any comedic anime, and it's just fun. Sure, it's not high art, but you have to admire a man who can poke fun at his own more dramatic creation (Ryo Mizuno, who also did Record of Lodoss War).