Fox

^Sibelius sounds better suited for your needs.

The weaknesses of Sibelius are minely in playback, there are alot of articulations that Sibelius wont playback properly (despite the claims on the website!) that Finale will. But it's still very solid especially for what you're looking for.

If you want a basic sequencer for a bit of track automation and a few effects then go download Reaper. I've just started using it and as far as I can tell it's a dumbed down, more reliable version of Cubase basically! And you can use VST instruments in it.