What would you folks list as your short list of candidates? Here are planes that, to me, seem to have the best overall performance at 15k and below:
F4U-4
La-7
Tempest
I don't fly any of them much. My thoughts are based on DoK's comparative charts of performance, which don't include handling at high or low speed, special features (like ability to drop gear at 300+ mph), firing rate or balistics (i.e., how easy is it to hit), aircraft size (La-7 is very hard for me to see from the rear, for example), etc.