Its easier to say where NOT to start in the dawless world. I woud say anything with a screen larger than 3.2 inches. About the same size as my
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People get way too hung up on how hard the OT is. Is it deep? Sure.
It ain’t hard to get grooving on that thing pretty quickly though.
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It’s also very customizable, it’s pretty easy to set it up as a performance mixer or a digitakt-style simpler sampler using only flex machines. You don’t have to use every feature straight away and actually you can’t use many of the features all at the same time.
And what I like the most about OT compared to a computer or the new MPC is what the OS allow you to do, you can do it without slowing the engine or bugging the OS. You are sure you won’t cross the hardware limit, no matter how crazy deep you go.
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Thats actually interesting to read because it kinda makes me undecided again between the OT and Digitakt. I actually dont mind the extra $$ to get the OT and if i can right away do everything in the OT I can do in the DT but more… ahhhh!!! confusion confusion! ahah
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Not more.
MUCH more! And with stereo files (up to 3h30mn from card!), recording time x15 in stereo, song mode…
Take just the crossfader and scenes. Huge control of the sound on 8 tracks, up to 250 parameters with adjustable min/max transition. DT Control All is ridiculous compared to it.
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as @sezare56 says … MUCH more …
If you are really thinking of getting an OT or an DT go OT. Don’t listen to posts warning against steep learning curves. The OT is not complicated, it’s only complex, if we dig in every feature at the same time.
The OT gives you a real-time looper, which can be controlled by a midi foot-pedal. It has many features, which can be explored one after another, step by step.
Having the OT and the MPC I would use the MPC for the kind of stuff you described … or at least, what I understood … , but the OT will do a very good job as well.
My few cents … 
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If that helps, as a guitar player who has been using the OP-1, OP-Z and Model:Samples daily for a year, what I am really lusting over is an Octatrack.
It’s great to hear from Octatrack users that the learning curve doesn’t have to be steep if you focus on one thing at a time. My fear is simply that on the Octatrack, everything needs setting up. At least that’s what it looks like when watching videos about it. It doesn’t feel like you can start a new project and start making music within seconds. On my M:S, I turn it on, press record and get a rhythm going, then replace the stock samples if I want. It has an immediacy that looks to be entirely absent from the Octatrack*. Again, if OT users can say otherwise, then it would be great, encouraging news, but I think most people would agree that it is not the most immediate and quick to pick up of all Elektron boxes.
What seems certain however, is that the OT is miles more powerful than the Digitakt, and a more “serious business” machine. Which doesn’t mean “not fun”! From its sample length to its stereo samples, its scenes to its live looping capabilities, the Octatrack feels more like an “audio lab” from what I could see of it, than a sketchpad. And you can go from simple ideas to complete, polished and evolving tracks, which looks positively awesome to me.
From what you have been saying in this thread, it sounds like OT could be right up your alley. What I mean is, I want similar things to what you said your goals were, and the OT is at the top of my list, if that’s useful info 
That is especially true if - as you mentioned - you have the budget, and the patience to learn how it works and do menu diving.
Good news, if you choose the Octatrack, there are tons of awesome people here who can help in making learning it less daunting. Good luck!
EDIT:
*I have heard immediacy can be somewhat achieved on the Octatrack using templates (after some, you guessed it, setting up), but I would rather not delve too deep into explaining the manual I have not read for a machine I have not used haha. I like this video, it is very reassuring to me. Maybe it can be to you too
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If you want looping and time stretching go OT. When starting out I suggest sticking to a simple structure - watch for videos and tutorials on how the OT is structured.
Keep it simple - the OT can do a lot, but it does not need to.
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I’m a guitar player and I went deep into electronic gizmos. I got the Octatrack to use a a looper, and to chop up my guitar parts.
I thought I’d use it to live-chop my stuff, but in the end it defeated me. Always too much setup. In the end I sold it and got a Digitakt, and much prefer it.
The single biggest difference for me at the start was the Digitakt’s sampler. One button, and you’re in the sampler. And with the lack of endless options, I ended up getting pretty good at the functions that are there.
Things I miss from the Octatrack:
- Auto-slicing a sample to keys (although IMO the OP-1 is better for this).
- flex recorders, for recording and playing back non-sequenced guitar parts in sync.
The octa is incredible, but wasn’t for me. And while I do most music-making on these devices, it all ends up in Ableton for arrangement.
For me, a DAW just gets in the way while coming up with stuff, but for editing and arranging, it’s the reverse—trying to push a Digitakt or Octatrack or even an OP-1 to arrange whole songs is a struggle and a distraction, full of workarounds that can be solved in a second with a mouse.
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Cheeky!
get a couple of synths, a sequencer, a mixer and maybe a multi fx unit