I say start with Persona 4, it's a lot easier for people not familiar with SMT, afterwards you can play the more complex ones.

umm I'm not sure what you mean?

Hmm... I'm torn between telling you to start with Persona 3 FES or Persona 4. Under most circumstances, I'd say P3FES, but the upcoming P3P makes it harder. I guess I'll still say to do P3FES first, since it also comes with the Answer, which is not on the PSP version. I will admit that there are a few flaws in the game, which is why starting there is also better to me. After that, go into P4, and said flaws are fixed. By this point, you should have a rough idea on the basic game mechanics and persona personalities to go deeper into the series. The gameplay itself will be different from P3/4, but the exploitation of weaknesses (and guarding of your own) will be crucial to learn in an easier game. Maybe I'd go with Nocturne next?

What I mean is that Persona 4 alone doesn't nearly represent the whole series. Games like Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, Digital Devil Sagas, Persona 1 and 2, the upcoming SMT: Strange Journey present the series in a better element...but what did you actually dislike in Persona 4? If it was the music, then no worries. The soundtracks of the mentioned games are way different to Persona4. Gameplay wise they're not that different, but expect way harder battles.

ok.

I read up on the SMt DS games as I love the DS. Apparently they are first person RPG's.....so is it like the Dragon Quest battle system?

The things I didn't like about PErsona 4 were the social links (they confused me), the dull & boring TV world, monster design & boring music.

So is SMT like PErsona?

The Social links are only exclusive to Persona 3 and 4 so don't worry, I know, they're freakin' bull and unnecessary addition to the series.

Yes, the battle system in the NDS games are in first person, Devil Survivor is really a neo-jrpg. Strange Journey is like the SMT 1 and 2, so they're totally first person.

Persona is a spin-off from the main series. Like the other games it just has a similiar battle system and Kazuma Kanenko's demons. In the other games you actually fight all the demons(that are personas in the Persona series) and you negotiate with them to fight with you( Digital devil saga is exeption, it has a normal jrpg party).