This is exactly the type of fishing I did 90% of the time before I stumbled into the JDM rabbit hole. Back then my favorite rod was a 7' Shakesphere graphite rod in Light action. I tried the UL version but found it too whippy for my taste. I used the clip on pencil bobbers down to about 6 ft, any deeper than that made it difficult to cast. When fishing deeper than 6 ft I would switch to a slip style float.
This is just my opinion but the biggest advantage of the JDM rods is their sensitivity. I feel you lose most of that advantage when using a bobber. Also if using a slip bobber with a bobber stop, you will have to pay attention to the size of the guides on the rod. Most JDM rods have much smaller guides than US rods. I've looked at trying to set up a slip bobber JDM rod, and decided not to do it. The guides are to small and the sensitiviy isn't needed for how I fish a slip bobber. I still use the 7' shakespere rods night fishing with a slip bobber with a live minnow during the summer time when they crappie are 10 to 15 ft deep.
This is where the sensitivity of a JDM shines. With the right line you can feel everything the jig is doing. I mostly fish a 1/32 jig with a troutmagnet tipped with a waxworm. I've transitioned from almost always fishing with a bobber to mostly fishing with just a jig.
The fish I normally catch are not large, where I normally fish 7 inch sunfish and 9 to 10 inch crappie are the norm. Given that I tend to have XUL,SUL, and UL JDM rods. The rating is somewhat subjective between brands. At the low power ratings even smaller fish are just plain fun on an area trout rod. I have Majorcraft, and several models of the Abu Garcia that I really like the action on. I also have 2 different Diawa area trout rods, I think the action on them is slower, more parabolic, I know i fish likes that action, I prefer a faster action.
I also have one Merabu rod, and one Aji rod. With the smaller size fish I normally catch they just aren't as much fun as the area trout rods, to me.
After watching ifish and troutmagnet mans you tube videos I tried to duplicate some of the bending curves that ifish has done. Photos are in this topic, maybe they will help you make a decision.
JDM rod bending curve photos (crappie.com)