I would get a set of customs, something along the lines of a Ultegra or Dura Ace hubset laced to Mavic Open pros (Classic, durable, reasonably light, easy to maintain, and probably well under your $1k budget). Get some fancy hubs like Hopes or Kings if you want to blow some cash.

I have Ksyrium Equipes and I will never buy a set of these as an only wheelset. They ride fine on the flats, but they are nothing special. At my weight, however, they blow me all over the frakin' road in any sort of cross wind or any kind of descent. Bladed spokes just suck when you are tiny and aren't worth any aero advantage (if I were time trialing a lot I'd consider a set of bladed spokes or deep rims as a SECOND wheelset, but not again as a primary.)

The other issue with Mavics is that if you do manage to bust them up it's harder to find someone to service them (and they frequently have to go back to Mavic). A set of custom built wheels can typically be repaired (true, replace a few spokes, re-lace to a new rim) by just about any wheelbuilder (and minor stuff by just about any experienced mechanic). Grant the Krsyiums seem pretty robust and resilient, so maybe that's not the end of the world.

For pre-builts the Shimano Ultegra and Dura Ace models look really nice and are getting great reviews. Bonus, you can go tubeless! (or get a fancy carbon rim, your choice).