I have personally always preferred to be within about 5 miles of Keswick as a base to spread out from, although we haven't been for about 6 years. Been as far as Dumfries from here. How much of Cockermouth etc is sorted after the floods - eg Jennings Brewery ?
It all depends what you want to do with your time, I live in the most 'touristy' part of the lakes, it is stupidly busy at times, Keswick is nice, although just as busy
I would give Keswick a go at New Year. We usually go between Christmas and New Year. There are plenty of pubs, and if you want a walk you can do lots of routes which leave from the town, so you don't get caught in traffic, so it doesn't matter how busy it is with tourists.