Best choice, all around is a Lab, period. For upland, water, family, watching the homestead; Labs, Labs, Labs. I love my Labs, and all thier quirks.
I agree with the notion that they take their time to settle in if you do not go all in on the training from day one. Case in point... my Brown-dog (no comments Mark or Adam) vs. my buddies twin Yellows. My girl is primarily a companion to my old yeller and a babe magnet. I've worked with her in a cursory sense, so she knows how to do basic retrieves, but I won't expect her to do double blinds right now. On the other hand, Frik and Frak were trained by a top pro when they were pups and Buddy works them non stop in the off season both in drills and running them in tower shoots at the local hunt club. These dog will (and have) retrieved birds any logical man would give up on, both on land, in water and through the ice.
I agree with the idea that Spaniels are phenomenal dogs too. And pointers. And terriers. And hounds. Bottom line... ...you need to be ready for a dog before you should get one. You don't need a dog to hunt with. You have enought to deal with over the next couple of years. The best thing you could do is make friends with folks that have dogs. Hunt with them. Learn and appreciate how different breeds work. Ge tthe inside track from your friends. As you develop a preference, a breed will stand out. Then, you need to start talking to breeders, owners, trainers...
Do it right and you will have a friend for the next 12-15 years, no matter how she hunts. Do it wrong, and you've made a mistake that will cost you so much more that the cost of admission.
Good luck.