I am no expert. I buy from one dealer because I like her and she is very supportive-working very hard to make customers happy. She sells Janome, Brother and Bernina. I own a Bernina 380 (sewing), a Brother NX 2000 (sewing) and a Brother PR 620 (this one is embroidery only). I also have a Brother serger.
I love all my machines but am a little partial to the Brother machines. While I love my Bernina- the Brother machines are so user friendly. I am just trying to learn FMQ and chose to do this on my Brother NX 2000. It came with a large table, has great speed controls and wow, it was so much fun to try the FMQ on this machine. It has so many options- thread cutter, threader, so many stitches, etc. It's just an easy machine to use as is my Brother embroidery machine.
I really think that knowing your dealer and feeling confident in their knowledge and support are so important. I would not have bothered looking into learning new stitching skills if she had not been supportive. Of course, she has sold me several machines but it has been a win-win situation really. She does business and I get great machines and support.
As I said, I am no expert and you will find your machine. I have read so many threads about different machine brands. New ones certainly aren't the heavy duty, all metal machines of years gone. I do also have a little featherweight and 1950's Necchi if I need that. The day I decided on my Brother NX 2000, I was actually looking at the Janome Horizon and the Bernina 820. Once I sat with my machine, I knew it was my machine. We have bonded. Good luck!