I would go with 1 small dwarf gouramis, something like a honey gouramis, or even chocolate gouramis. The chocolate gouramis are more demanding in terms of water conditions, so if you keep on top of the water changes, 1 should be fine in a 5 gallon.
Sorry, I didn't realize you have two topics going. The dwarf gouramis are lovely. The honey gourami is a good choice. You could also look into sunset gourami... another beauty. How about a couple shrimp and a few snails?