Should you decide to come to Shu, I'm looking to recruit members for my guild, Draconian. I too think that simply having fun and making friends is the most important part of the game, more so than winning or losing. And such is the kind of group I'm wanting to get with my guild. It's still a very young guild will only a few members right now, so i could use someone like you if you're interested.
As for generals, if you plan on doing any sort of crafting, then you'll want to get a general with a bonus to Technology, the ones in Shu currently are Jiang Wei and Ma Chao. Not sure about the other kingdoms.
Besides that though, it's just personal preference for the most part.