My preference for personal protection if I could only have one would be the G19, that being said if I wanted to go shooting for fun my preference would be the Ruger (if it had a nice trigger job on it).
I feel like a novice shooter is better off with a revolver for personal protection because if is fails to fire for any reason they simple pull the trigger again, no "tap, rack, bang" or clearing a stove pipe or any other complex task done in the heat of the moment.
I do love the weight of the revolver, and I like the easy retrieval of my brass after I shoot, that being said 17 rounds versus 6 is hard to argue with in a defensive situation (hate to get killed for lack of shooting back)