I feel that the Cercis shades out the understory more than the Amelanchier. Here in INdiana the Cercis is very weedy, with seedlings sprouting everywhere. But the flowers are prettier in my opinion. I als think that Cercis are harder to keep looking good. They require a lot more pruning and are more prone to breakage and disease. I would go for the Amelanchier, in my opion it is much prettier.
t

Amelanchier canadensis is a tree form and I don't think it suckers much. Other Amelanchier spp. are more shrubby.

I think you could definitely find a more tree shaped serviceberry if you look around. I find the redbud to be a bit weedy (seedlings) as well here in Georgia.

Plus the serviceberry is attractive to birds, but I have seen nothing eat the redbud's pods.

There are many species of serviceberry, some are trees, some are shrubs. Try allegany serviceberry (A. laevis) for a good tree form.

Serviceberry will provide less dense shade and is attractive in four seasons, provides bird and people food, good fall colour, white spring flowers and attractive winter bark.

Here is a link that might be useful: Many kinds of serviceberry

I followed your suggestions and purchased an Autumn Brilliance serviceberry - multitrunked. The trunks however are touching so I need to figure out how to get some space between them. If you have any suggestions for doing that I'd love to hear them. Thanks for your help!

I would like to put in a word for redbud. Here in my SE michigan property redbuds produce a lot of seedlings, but the seedlings are slow growing, dainty, and easily pulled or mowed, unlike maple seedlings which can become monsters if you dont act quickly. I have many redbud offspring that I simply watch, as they are attractive understory plants for a long time.

I dont trim my redbuds anymore. Without trimming, they develop arching sprays that often touch the ground. Branches have umbrella like habit, but there aren't many branches, so the largest trees have many open segments up the trunk, unlike the dense maples

Animals don't eat the pods, birds don't nest in my redbuds - too open, but rabbits and squirrels eat the bark in winter. I have caught squirrel using both hands to yank wrappings off the trunk. One bad winter they girdled a big redbud almost killing it. I just removed the wrapper off the trunk this summer to find the tree was re-forming trunk over the chewed area.

Although I have planted serviceberry, I think the redbud has it all over in looks. Since they grow slow, and die young, keeping the offspring around makes sense