Centipedegrass is a VERY poor choice for the Raleigh area, so don't feel bad it died. Zoysia is a good choice, but NOT Emerald, or Zeon, or Diomond, or even Zorro. They tend build up thatch VERY quickly when missmanaged, it is VERY difficult to mow with a rotary mower, and brown/dormant most of the year like all warm season grasses. The best Zoysiagrass for the average homeowner with rotary-type mower are Meyer and Zenith. Compadre Zoysia is also a good choice, but it does not have the same winter hardiness and dark green color like Meyer or Zenith when properly fertilized. They also have the apearance of a Fescue/Bluegrass lawn, which is the type of grass that most people use and grow around here. You can have a pure Kentucky Bluegrass lawn, that will give the best apearance, but you need irrigation and Fungicide program for the summer months. The best combination for home sites without irrigation in the Raleigh area is Fescue/Bluegrass mix/blend. Is what sod farmers sell around here. You can find that type of sod at Lowe's or Home Depot. If you're going to seed instead, then you can purchase the seed almost anywhere. Just make sure the bag reads Fescue/Bluegrass. I'm in Cary, so I'm very familiar with what grows here best.

Yes, Bullseye seems to be the winner in terms of drought, disease and performance where you live. Most companies blend three TTTF's together, but this is probably an unecessary step since TTTF genetics are very similar between cultivars. With KBG it's much more important to do since the genetic differences are much greater between certain cultivars, so much so that they have been divided into separate classifications (compact, compact america, shamrock, etc). With tall fescue this isn't the case, not that there isn't genetic differences, but it's not enough to have to worry about. I used three when I did my lawn renovation, but I was just following convention. Since you are overseeding into an existing lawn, using just Bullseye would be fine in my opinion.

Don't buy regular/common Kentucky Bluegrass (Kenblue is one of them) get the Turf Type or Elites if you will. They are much better resistant to disease and heat. The old ones are probably more drought tolerant, but just a bit more and not enough to overlook at the benefits of the Elite-type Bluegrasses. The best drought tolerant Bluegrass is going to be the Hybrid ones based on various University Studies. They can go about 40 days without water before they start to wilt. Another option is to go with Turf Type (elite types) Perennial Ryegrass. The reason I say this is because if you are not going to water during the summer and your are going to lose some if not nearly all of your turf, then PRG is going to get to work MUCH faster than any bluegrass or Fescue. It germinates in 4 to 5 days, and 2 weeks later you're mowing - a week later you have sod. Dark green, dense, traffic tolerant, fine bladed, and nearly weed free. It establishes so fast that weeds don't have time to germinate. As far as your clay soil becoming hard during droughts, that is accurate. If you let clay soil dry out completly, it can take several rainfall to get it wet and to hold water again. The key is not to let the soil dry out between rainfalls. I understand your situation with the well, but remember that the 2007 summer was as rare as an April snowfall in Raleigh... Dogs can damage lawns very easely, specially if they dig it all the time. They usally like mark the perimeter of the property and create pathways in the process, which they use often. I hope it's not the case for you. Click on the link below for info on Hybrid Bluegrasses: It appears that Reveille is the most drought tolerant of the Hybrid Bluegrasses, it is also generically dark green. Picture was taken on August 12, 2009 at the NTEP site in Raleigh. Here is a link that might be useful: Hybrid Bluegrasses

I have been blessed with red clay too. It is not only very compacted but it is in 100% all day sun so it bakes into this concrete. I've been adding topsoil a little at a time and have planted trees to shade the yard. As for what will do best in NC, the variety of hard fescue I'm using was tested in NC and ranked highly according to the dude that sold it to me. That's all they had in stock. I had used the creeping red previously and had great success with that so that is why I am using both. The NTEP list shows a number of fine fescues with decent color and summer survival but the overal quality is low. I am guessing here but I think the quality is being ranked lower because of it's clumpy appearance. It doesn't look like any of the cool season grasses are ranked very highly in NC so I don't know if that is due to a different climate or different set of criteria or just of picky turf scientists.