I was thinking Loweswater, Crummock and Buttermere...
Loweswater might be a good place to use as a base if you don't want to be in a town. It's a nice little village with a nice pub. It has decent access to the west if you want to do a day trip to Sellafield, Whitehaven, St Bees, etc, and it's not too far from Cockermouth and Keswick for shopping. The scenery in the immediate vicinity isn't that great though. There is a path all the way round the lake, but it's not right on the shore line and there's a lot of vegetation, so outside of winter it doesn't offer great views of the the lake.
Crummock Water is a much under aporeciated lake, but it's probably not a good base. There's really not much habitation, no villages, just a few scattered farm houses. The lake is quite big, so walking around it is a full day exercise, but it's not that enjoyable: the path on the west side isn't that great and the road on the east side is narrow and can be busy. Nice scenery - especially when seen from an elevation such as Low Fell - but I would suggest not really a base.
Buttermere is absolutely stunning. The scenery is amongst the very best in the Lakes, and the walk around the lake is wonderful. The village is lovely, and it has two good pubs, a cafe and an ice cream shop. All three roads in and out - Honister, Newlands, and Crummock - are fun to drive. The only issue is that it can get busy.