welcome to the rabbit hole....
there are some pretty decent cheap gmrs radios out there. they all have there good and bad points some more then others. ive used uv5rs to kg935. they all do the job some better some worse.
if i was you i would go with the gmrs, if u get one of these radios u have the option of putting on a external antenna for when u want to start talking a little more (u know u will ? )
wish i could give u a better answer but theres to many variables and with my limited experience,i feel it really boils down to personal preferences and features u really like. me i like wouxons group scan feature and dual channel monitoring with ease.
before u bite the bullet go thru the forum and there are lots of threads about the different ht's, also check out Offroaderx's youtube page he has lots of info and it seems like your not a "sad ham" so u would enjoy his content.
https://www.youtube.com/c/NotaRubiconProductions