Hello Norm,
Some of the programs you provide the link to may be very good, however it's not a quick job to assess a piece of solid modelling software.
Sure the basics have to be there in all these programs but it is my experience that to know a piece of CAD software well enough to be able to compare it with some degree of authority you need in the region of 3 months to a year.
Rightly or wrongly most CAD pro's will stick with the market leaders, and there are many sound reasons why they do this.
A beginner should ask themselves what they want the software to do, how easy is it to use and how intuitive is it to find things when required. How big is the user base? How much help can I get? Are training manuals and videos available?
When you try a piece of CAD software don't just play around with it, have something in mind that you want to achieve and go for it. It is only then that you will discover what the program is really like to use, and most importantly how easy it is to modify models/assemblies and correct problems.
I can offer advice, but what suits me may not suit you. Personally I would feel to be cheating you if I did not really know a program before commenting on it.
There is no doubt that word of mouth is the best recommendation you can get, so my advice would be to trawl the internet for existing users/forums of the particular software you have taken a shine to and see what is being said about it. If the support is poor leave well alone.
I have waffled on a bit
but I hope what I have said helps.
Regards,
Dave