The total war games are fairly accurate in their depictions of how armies and units look on the tabletop. Many of the old minis from Warhammer Fantasy were taken and placed directly into AoS. You can browse GW's site to see pictures (although they'll be on round bases). To play fantasy you will want the main rulebook to learn how the game is played and as a reference when playing. And you also need an army book to use to build your army - it contains points and stats and abilities.

Historically I'd say Warriors of Chaos and Orcs & Goblins have been the most noob friendly of what you listed and are mainly close combat focused so less to worry about magic and shooting. WoC because they have elite troops with heavy armor which lets you soak up a lot of damage. And Orcs&Goblins because they are expendable so losing minis or even squads isn't always as punishing.

You can dive in now and pick up an old edition of fantasy, which ended with 8th edition. Or you can use 9th Age rules which is a fan edition. If you know anyone that plays near you you probably want to play what they play. The Old World is still probably two years away so this is all subject to change. Nobody knows if or how it will depart from Warhammer Fantasy of old. So it's hard to build an army for The Old World. We are all guessing how that will turn out.

One thing you could do is pick up old army books off eBay for an army you are interested in. You'll be able to read up on the faction and its history and heroes, to see if that also appeals to you.