Halogen would work well to put out a lot of light, and the torchieres usually have toe switches. I think Lamps Plus has some LED torchieres - I tend to avoid CFLs for one reason or another.

Have you considered installing wall sconces?

Wall or ceiling lights are what they want to avoid. I was originally looking for halogen torchieres but they don't make 300 or 500w anymore. I guess they burned too many houses down. The highest I've found was 180, there was one 300 for over a $1000 dollars though.

Are there LED torchieres that put out a 300-500w equivalent?

What are your reasons for avoiding CFLs? They seemed to be the easiest way to get that much light bounced from a standing lamp.

I came across these wacky looking bulbs, and I immediately thought about your torchiere question. I'm not sure if they are bright enough, but I think they would be perfect for single-bulb torchiere:

http://www.maxlite.com/products/pancake

A cfl equivalent consumes about 45w. As the typical torchiere directs light towards the ceiling, you'd need more light output.