@nachoqtpie first things first. Curb appeal simply means it's nicely landscaped in my book. Honestly if I had any plant that smelled awful it would be gone. Same with anything that I don't like the look of. If I can save it and have a willing person who wants it great! If not it's gone.
Besides this opens up the property for you to put your touch on it. You live there you should want to open windows/doors and bask in how great things look and smell.
Cats right though. Get quality roses. Pics pulled the trigger on a few from a box store but I knew what they were so felt comfortable with that.
With you living in NC you should have a lot of options for your area. Disease resistance is important. However you need to look at things a little differently.
Roses are like dogs. There is a breed/variety out there for everyone who wants one. Trick is doing your homework to decide what you want. For example a beagle & a Brittany are two very different breeds. Even though they are both hunting dogs, and both smaller dogs, they are distinctly different.
You might go in thinking you absolutely want a beagle, but maybe after some homework you realize a pug is really a better fit for you. Keep an open mind
First you need to decide how much work you want to put into them. Things like disease resistance, and how well established a variety are play into that. Old stand bys like Mr Lincoln, Oklahoma, Julia Child, and JFK to name a few are old stand bys for a reason.
Other things to be aware of are blossom type, color, and if they produce in a single flush of blooms, or repeat bloomers or are continuous bloomers. It matters. Again do your homework.
Roses need a little TLC. If you plant them and forget them they will look like it. They will probably be good but they won't be at their best. It's simple enough I prune mine, feed them, and dead head certain ones. It's not all the time, and it's not weeks of work either. It's here and there so it's realistic. In turn they reward me with some utterly gorgeous displays when they show off.
Hope this helps and look forward to what you choose