I am leaning towards the giant bikes. It has been hard to get around to try all of these different bikes. Regarding the 2015 roam 1 vs 2014 roam 0. I looked into the different forks and found that the 2014 has hydraulic dampening, a rebound cartridge and a 30mm stanchion tube diameter while the 2015 doesn't have these features and has a 28mm stanchion tube diameter. Do these things matter for a beginner rider? I haven't been able to test ride the roam 1 because it is so new but the roam 0 feels great.

Links
2014 Roam 0 front Suspension - Details*- SR SUNTOUR Cycling
2015 Roam 1 front suspension - Details*- SR SUNTOUR Cycling