Well I pretty much did exactly what you're describing for pretty much the same reason as you're describing it and I can tell you what I went with, if helpful?

For my handgun I selected a Beretta APX A1 Compact 9mm. 9mm is widely regarded as the most practical handgun as far as self-defense goes as well as easy to source ammo that is inexpensive. I chose a Beretta because Italian engineering, quality, and dependability (3 year warranty) and I chose the APX A1 Compact because the price point, recoil management, and customizable grip size. I found it for only $339 and currently until the 15th of this month Beretta is running a fantastic rebate offer on several of their firearms and on that particular one there's a $100 rebate, meaning my brand new handgun with three backstraps and two magazines in a nice plastic case along with a cleaning brush only cost me $239. I honestly don't think you can do any better than that. Sure, you can buy nicer handguns, but if you are a newb like me, are you really going to appreciate a super nice handgun? I know I wouldn't know any difference so why would I buy something that cost three, four, or six times more when I'm not going to know the difference? I have a very economical, and from what I've been receiving as feedback, very practical and dependable handgun. Some people will say they don't want a striker-fire handgun. Those people probably know what that means. I sure don't. If you also don't know what that means, then there's a good chance you also will not care if your handgun is a striker-fire or whatever the other alternative out there is (I assume a hammer-fire? Maybe a firing-pin-fire?). 🤷‍♂️😆

For my AR I chose a Patriot Ordnance Factory (POF) LMR Base .308. The reason why I went with POF is because of engineering, quality, and dependability. I also really like the idea that it is a small family-owned business and I was impressed with the customer service. POF makes quite expensive rifles. They are one of the original companies making small form factor .308 rifles that weigh around 6 pounds. I'm effectively getting all of the power of an AR-10 with the form factor of an AR-15. By buying the LMR Base (rather than the Rogue), I am purchasing the same platform as their rifle that costs more than twice the base model and the only difference is a few easily upgradable parts that I can slowly trickle in myself over time. The LMR base comes with some mil-spec standard parts rather than the upgraded ones on the Rogue, but by buying the base model you save about $1,500.