I started on clipless pretty early on & yes had some silly falls while not unclipping quickly, but this will happen even if yr riding 10 years & go to clipless.. if you come off at speed, if yr clipped or not - yr going down & yr feet unclip when you fall anyway, well for me so far they have.....

I hired a bike on weekend without clipless pedals and hated it - feel kept bouncing off....

as for what to get, I picked up cheap Shimano SPD's pedals and Shimano trail shoes when I started & they served me well for a good while - upgrade to the multi-release shimano cleats if you do choose shimano though..