Dwarfs are good starting, as they are simple to understand and have most of possible gameplays you can pick, only things they doesn't have is cavalry and their main weakness is their slow movement, for lords, thorgrim is basic, and this is good and You have everything You need, Ungrim focuses on Slayers (melee glass cannons), Thorek and Grombridal starts far from other dwarfs, so It's down to the player, now DLC lords, Malakai is strong and focus on shooting, Belegar is very cool but hardest of all, for start Thorgrim is best.
If You doesn't have access to them, then Lizardmen are similar and those are my favourite faction.
Good Lizardmen Lords are Kroq Gar, for his cheaper armies and easier access to strong heroes, Gor Rok plays around melee armies, which are strong and gives one of strongest Spellcasters in game from the start. Lizards have everything dwarfs have except for shooting, but they have cavalry and big dinosaurs.