I went the opposite direction. I started as a martial artist: 3rd degree Black belt in a Karate/Kung Fu Blend, a few years of Kali under Doug Marcaida (Filipino stick and knife fighting), and then a touch of Judo. After 12 years of getting the shit kicked out of me on a weekly basis and after I joined the army I got into the shooting disciplines.
If you want a truly utilitarian martial art, I would personally stay away from the traditional Asian ones (Kung fu, Karate, Tae Kwon Do, etc). Under the right instruction they can be good, but generally tend to be more flashy. The lessons being taught are often veiled like the wax on-wax off instruction from the Karate Kid.
Going towards wrestling arts like Judo and Ju-jitsu are more utilitarian, partly because theyre focused on competitions. You can't win a competition with style, the techniques actually have to work. However, since it's more wrestling based, there's not much emphasis on weapons or even much striking. More about holds and takedowns.
The last category I'd mention is the militant style martial arts. Kali, Krav Maga, military combatives, etc. These may be more offensive, but they focus heavily on weapons techniques- blocking, disarming, attacking. I've found that these are by far the most effective. A new student can pick up a few basic ideas and become proficient in a matter of weeks Vs a few years for something like kung fu. As I'm writing this, I'm really starting to think that Kali or something similar would be a good direction for you. Look up some videos of Doug Marcaida; he has a lot of good videos that show what Kali and similar martial arts are all about.