I have a 50/34 compact double crank with a 9 speed 11/28 cassette on my road bike and struggle up anything over 10% incline. For somebody just starting out who is out of shape, and encounters longer or steeper hills, a 34/28 low gear might not cut it. The thing with road bike derailleurs is that they limit you do a 27-28T granny gear (although that's slowly changing). I'd be inclined to go for the triple crank with a narrower spaced cassette (like a 12/26) on a hybrid if large gear jumps are a concern. On flat ground you'll probably never have to leave the middle chainring and you still have plenty of climbing gears by dropping down to the small chainring.

As far as the "feel" of 8 vs 9/10 speed there isn't any difference. Better shifters and derailleurs may give a slight improvement in shift quality.