I say Kanthal to start with. Some 26g Kanthal is probably the best starter, it's a nice middle ground. Want lower resistance try twisting it (it'll increase ramp up time but also prevent scorching). Kanthal is the standard for a reason. I also use mainly SS but I still feel one should start with Kanthal and move on from there. SS with simple builds simply perform to more extremes than Kanthal. It's amazing how fast 100ft of wire will disappear, so trust me when I say play with that to start and then make some choices on what you like/dislike about it and get an educated decision from there.
As for resistance and flavor, there's no right answer. A nice dense vapor is what's key, you can do that at any resistance depending on different factors.