Well I have only played the demo, but in the demo my favourite is the Rhino freighter.
It don't turn as well but once I hit, you definitaly feel it.
Drail and Xeno rapid fire weapons deliver a hell of a punch.
Also it has many weapon mounts, enough to cause some serious damage.

Unfortunately, the Rhino won't seem as good when you get the full version- it is rapidly outclassed by anything outside of the Liberty systems.

One suggestion if you don't want VHF's would be to switch to the Banshee- it can evade better than the Falcon, being a LF, while still packing a pretty heavy punch when armed with top-end gear. Although I play MP about as often as pigs fly, I hear it stacks up decently against class 10 ships when put in the hands of a good pilot.

Reaper: $200,000,000.
Rockets: $100,000
The look on that pilot's face when you launch a full pod of screamers up his tailpipe: priceless

My personal favorite (and I'm not a VHF fan either) would be the Drake. It's probably the most manueverable ship in the game, as well as being a very small target. Let's not forget it's stylish good looks. I've fought off waves of Titans and Sabres with the little guy, personally.

The biggest concern pilots might have when looking at the ship is it's light shielding and weaponry. The answer, however, is in it's superior maneuverability. VHF's simply can't keep up with it's agility, so your shields are actually protecting you from those instances where you accidently run through the random spray generated by a dogfight. That same manueverability lets you doggedly stay on your target. Where a VHF (or heavy fighter, for that matter) relies on it's firepower to knock down a shield in one or two hits when the opportunity presents itself, the Drake can stay on target and rain continuous damage on it. Thus, your weapons might do less damage per shot, but you'll hit more often than a VHF.

The Drake lives for the dogfight. You want to close with your enemies quickly, get amongst them, and then chew them up while they wheel about in frustration. Avoid that first encounter where everyone usually just exchanges shots while closing. Just dodge their fire until they close with you, then try to avoid laughing while you tear them apart - it'll mess up your aim.