You chose wisely.  Bravely default is the biggest piece of garbage I have played in a very long time.  I'm still kicking myself for buying it digitally because I cant trade it in... 

You can really play it however you want, so I won't say any way of playing through the game is the wrong way. I've personally found that units with very high defense or resistance (ex. Generals and Falcoknights) are usually my most importance units. In general, you can use them at choke points in indoor levels to keep enemies from reaching weaker units, and use them as bait for enemies in outdoor levels. I've found that's usually the most effective way to minimize damage during the enemy phase. Once it's the player phase, you can send low level units to kill the weakened enemies, or send out a larger group to finish off enemy formations that you managed to split up by baiting.

However, it's not a perfect method on its own, since there's so many different classes and skills, so I've found being flexible is even more critical. Here are a few general tips of mine...for anyone who cares enough to read this LAP.

• Make sure to level up a variety of units, both to test out different growth rates and classes. I've found around ~15 is usually my golden number, though with the ability to grind, you don't have to limit yourself in Awakening. 
• Use pre-promoted units over promoted ones. Every game has a Jagen archetype (named after a character in the first game of the series), which is basically a promoted unit that becomes playable very early in the game. In general, they tend to have low growth rates, and they hog lots of experience that would benefit other units early in the game. For example, were you to level up Stahl to 20, and use a Master Seal to change him into a Paladin, the odds are highly likely that he will have superior stats over Frederick at the same level.
  • Likewise, every game has an Est archetype, which is basically opposite to Jagens, as they join at a very low level, but tend to have the highest growth rates in the game. Leveling up these characters almost always gives good results.
• Never go into the Enemy Phase without having planned out the worst case scenario. Something I've always found appealing about Fire Emblem is how simple damage calculation is in comparison to other RPGs. It's just: STRENGTH (or MAGIC) + WEAPON POWER - ENEMY DEFENSE (or RESISTANCE) = DAMAGE. Since the range of these stats is almost always in the range of 1-30, it makes it easy to plot out the worst case scenario during the enemy phase. If you plan to send a unit into a dangerous area, make sure to calculate how much damage they risk receiving. Never send units in blind, unless you're prepared for a potential casualty.
• Use the enemy range checker frequently. This basically allows you to see how far an enemy can move, and where your player unit will be safe. This goes along with my tip above, make sure you understand how far an enemy can move before you send a player unit out, or you might risk fighting an extra battle during the enemy phase. If you can handle the additional damage, this is a good way to lure enemies closer, but if you can't, you're only needlessly sending a unit off to their death.

Bravely Default: Where the Fairy Flies.

But eventually get Fire Emblem: Awakening.

Both have great 3D during gameplay.

I have played both, but I've sunk more hours just with the FE supports alone than playing Bravely Default. Awakening is the best 3DS game yet.

I haven't played Fire Emblem, but it's probably the better game if it's as good as the other I've played. The only one I've played is Sacred Stones.

I'm thinking about the exact same question... Since DQ7 isn't likely to come in the near future I'm tilting towards FE, but I'll think about it some more time.

i dont like fe at all. guess srpg dont do it for me.

Depends on if you rather play a SRPG or an JRPG. Both games are great but i'd give the edge to Fire Emblem even though i prefer JRPGs over SRPGs just because the later half of BD is rather boring and takes awhile to get back on pace.

Let us know which you end up getting! (unless you already have, i only scanned some of the posts)