Well here's my advice:
Firstly, forget about the number of megapixels. Unless you're planning on printing enlargements bigger than A4 there's absolutely no point in having more than about 3Mp. (You simply won't be able to see the difference). Camera manufacturers like to make their cameras seem 'better' than those of their rivals by providing 8Mp, 10Mp or even 15Mp models but those models don't add anything to what you can get from a 3Mp camera.
What you really need from a camera is a decent zoom lens. Most manufacturers quote figures which aren't 'true' focal lengths but those which a traditional 35mm film camera's lens would need to have to produce the same results.
A simple 'point and shoot' film camera typically has a lens with a focal length of between 40mm and 50mm. A camera with a semi-wide angle lens might have a focal length of around 30mm. Once you get down to around 20mm you're looking at a 'fish-eye' lens. A 'short telephoto' lens (which is useful for portraiture work) could be around 80mm. A 'medium telephoto' lens (useful for taking pictures of your dog playing in the garden, without having to get too close) might be around 135mm. A 'long telephoto' lens (for taking general shots of a football match, without getting really close up) might be around 200mm. The really long lenses used by professional sports photographers start at around 300mm and go up to around 1000mm.
I'd normally recommend ensuring that your lens goes up to at least 100mm, and preferably up to 200mm or greater. However your requirements seem to be more centred around wide-angle lenses. So you need to ensure that the lens can go down to 30mm (or preferably lower) and, importantly, that it can focus at short distances. (That's often described as 'macro' or 'semi-macro' function by manufacturers).
Chris