I liked flying the 109F or G6 in AH1 but haven't flown them in AH2 in MA much. I take the 20mm in the G6 as opposed to the 30mm and only take the gun pods if planning on intercepting bombers. The 109's are not all that durable and don't absorb battle damage very well, so you really have to be careful and fly the thing right to survive with the 109. I wouldn't say it's a beginners plane at all, but if it's the 109 series you are drawn to, then the best way to learn is to get in the plane and start fighting with it. I died an awful lot learning the 109...but then, I just die a lot. =)
My personal favorite is the 190A-5. Excellent firepower. Fantastic roll rate. Pretty good climb rate. Not super fast, but does have a fairly generous amount of WEP available when you need it. Fairly durable aircraft too. Love the radial engine that seems to scoff at engine oil hits. Awesome skins too for this ride now. It has some quirky stall characteristics, but to wring the most out of it, you really need to fly with stall limiter off. I suppose that's true with any plane.
Lots of pro's and con's to any of the planes in AH though, so you just have to find what you like and what works well for you and go with that.