Your own knowledge of the encyclopaedic guides is encyclopaedic in itself.
I've never played any Final Fantasy games. I'm afraid if I started now they might take up all the remaining free time allotted me in this life.
Baldur's Gate 2 was fantastic, though. And the first Baldur's Gate was probably the only RPG I played through until the end.
It's not a pretty life, @winstonalden, but I guess someone has to live it. Might as well be me so some other poor sap doesn't spend their days having to reference and cross-reference this stuff. :D
I stopped playing the Final Fantasy games after Final Fantasy X, and even then, I never finished that one. I got to the last part of the game before one confronts the final boss, realized I had enjoyed almost none of the 40-some hours I had dumped into it, set the controller down, walked over to the TV, ejected the disc, and turned my PS2 off. I passed on Final Fantasy XI because it was an online-only experience (I hate online games), I gave XII a try and gave up less than an hour into it because it was clear Square had given up all pretense of making video games and only cared about the full-motion video sequences.
If I was going to suggest one for you to play, I'd suggest Final Fantasy VI. It's the pinnacle of Square's RPG development, with an amazing story, a huge array of diverse and interesting characters, a gorgeous soundtrack, and a complete lack of FMV sequences to break the immersion. :)