I feel your pain, I just got done with a 2-month long logo deliberation.
According to marketeers, logos should be an easily recognizable extension of your "brand."
For example, Red Triangle Logo = Bass Ale (first patented logo in the UK).
For those reasons, I like 1 and 5 best.
2 - 4 are "too busy." They're "artwork", not logos. No disrespect to the artist, though.
It should be something you can see on a sign from 300 feet away and instantly recognize as "YellowHammer!"
The first thing that I think of when you say "yellow hammer" is a big golden THOR hammer!
I think that'd be smashing!
