Sorry, I'm a bit late to this "party" however, just in case it might help someone else?
There are a whole raft of "mid" quality tool brands, I suspect many just being brands of one of the "tool giants" like Apex:
https://www.apextoolgroup.com/ which are very good buys. Personally I've been very pleased with some I've bought branded Bergen, Nielsen, and US Pro (think Bergen's range is now all branded US Pro? I just can't keep up with it all!) The Halfords professional/expert stuff is very good too. Draper and Laser come to mind too.
Back in the 1960's when I was starting to build up my tool kit 1/2" drive was what most people went for so much of my stuff is 1/2". However, with the advent of metric fixings sizes became smaller and 3/8" drive became very popular. 3/8 is handy for getting into smaller spaces but you really can't beat 1/2" for tight/seized stuff - well, actually, you can, but not unless you're thinking of spending more cash than a lot of folk find reasonable.
The problem is what should you buy as a basic starter? I'd still advise 1/2" drive for it's "robustness" with maybe a small 3/8" set to back it up for getting into tight corners. and I can strongly recommend Bergen/US pro's Xi-ION single hex sockets. Here's an add for a 1/2" drive set:
https://berlintools.co.uk/products/bergen-20pcs-1-2-drive-6-point-shallow-xi-ion-sockets-8mm-32mm There are a number of manufacturers now making these sockets with the "grippy" slots and I can vouch for the fact they really work very well on damaged fixings. Personally I like the black "impact" sockets so I can use them with my air gun (standard chromed ones tend to break if used with impact guns) Here's a picture of a 19mm deep socket - on the left - with the slots and a normal "shallow" 19mm impact socket.
View attachment 440278
I tend to reach for the deep sockets by default.
Of course if you buy them like this you're going to need to buy something to drive them with. The ratchets that come boxed with a cheapish set of sockets are nearly always made down to a price so I think you're better to buy a set of sockets and then a separate ratchet - 24 tooth is common and usually pretty robust although "Gearless" ratchets are becoming popular and can be useful in tight corners, a gearless ratchet also makes a 6 point socket more usable in tight spaces. If you can afford it a power bar is a great complementary item to have and you can "lean" on it a lot harder than you can a ratchet.