Choosing between desks, and one desk felt I screwed them over - thoughts and how to repair the bridge?

For sake of anonymity I'll say that I work at a bank and as part of the analyst placement process we've had a networking period where we're looking for a desk. It's a very fast process and many people have already been "placed".

Seats A, B, C, D were virtually indistinguishable to me from a preference standpoint, with each having their own sets of pros and cons. All of them I have been in constant contact with for a while. 

Seat B the associate really took a liking to me and took me under his wing to an extent. This is important. 

Anyways, late last week Seat A was moving very quickly and basically asked for a firm commitment from me. Given I was in limbo and couldn't distinguish between the three seats, I essentially said "let me think about it". Shortly thereafter, they decided to go with an analyst who was truly interested. A similar situation played out with Seat D, though they didn't ask for a firm commitment (just checking in consistently until they said sorry, we have an analyst who is truly interested - implication was there that had I demonstrated #1 interest early, I would've gotten the role).

Given the process is wrapping up and B and C were the only desks still really on the table for me, I'm panicking a bit. Worst case scenario is I get neither.

I have a call with desk C today, kind of a final networking / interview. I meet the MD. I tell him this is my #1 when in reality B and C are indistinguishable. My real thinking is I'm taking whoever gives me the offer first.

I get a ping from the B associate later. We check in and I say "if everything lines up on both ends, I'd take an offer from this team". He goes great, let's have you speak with the head of the desk later today. Nothing is guaranteed / he doesn't say "you're getting an offer" or anything like that, so it's still possible I don't get it.

Before that conversation with B's head of desk, C gives me an offer. I take it.

I get on the phone with the B associate to let him know. He doesn't take it lightly, nor does the VP who's listening in. They're very disappointed, infer that I basically lied to them, etc. I'm feeling terrible because I genuinely like these guys but didn't know what else to do, but at the same time I never formally committed (wasn't like I got an offer and rescinded). I digress.

C heard about all of this and thankfully didn't take it too much to heart, but did express concern that I mend my relationship with B. This was my plan regardless as again, I like the guys, find the desk interesting, don't want to burn bridges, etc.

From a transparency perspective, would it have possibly been better to say "it's been B and C for me, and at this point in the process they are indistinguishable so I would take an offer from whichever chose me first"? I just fear that this would've forced the issue and I would've gotten neither.

I just wanted to get WSO's opinions on how else I could've played this and what next steps I can take. The good news is that B is a strong desk and I'm sure they'll find a good analyst. But I still feel awful / guilty even though it wasn't my intention to play either team, but rather to just take the first that was willing to commit to me.