I know this doesn't answer your question but I'm going to share my experience anyway. I also wanted to stop using non stick pans so I bought a stainless steel pan and later, because I kept reading about how amazing they are, a cast iron skillet. The result is that I use the stainless steel pan 90% of the time and only use the cast iron skillet for omelettes and other things where I know that I only need medium heat and nothing will turn brown and sticky in the pan.

I found the whole seasoning/burning in procedure quite annoying (so much smoke and I was afraid that something may start to burn) and I don't like the fact that I would have to repeat it if I ever wash the pan with dish liquid. I have the feeling that it never gets really clean: there is always some brown or black stuff visible when I clean it with a paper towel, no matter how often I clean it (maybe if I put a lot of effort into it but... why do I have to? It's so annoying). I'm really not a germaphobe at all but even I don't find this very appetizing. And I find it annoying that I have to be so careful about it not getting rusty: I let it dry on the stovetop when it is still warm to get rid of the moisture and then I rub in some oil to protect it. And all that for a cooking result that is not significantly better than my stainless steel skillet.

With the stainless steel one, I just add dish liquid and water, wait for a minute and no matter how horribly it looked before, it will be perfectly clean and look like something that doesn't try to give me cancer. And it doesn't constantly need my attention. I want to cook, not take care of an oldtimer! That's what the cast iron one feels like to me.

AND I can touch the handle of my stainless steel skillet at any time, no matter how long it's been on the stove. I need to use a glove or something similar when touching the cast iron skillet.

About the lid: I have a lid that would theoretically fit on both pans because they are supposed to have the same size but it only fits the stainless steel one perfectly. So if possible, I would get a set with a lid right from the start instead of buying it later on as an addition. I think a lid is quite helpful - I mostly use it when I want to cook pancakes or omelettes to capture the heat so that the top part sets more quickly and I can turn it over sooner or when roasting vegetables and I want to capture some of the steam to make everything a little bit softer.

Sorry if this was too off topic but I wish someone would have told me that when I bought my cast iron skillet. It was a nice experiment and it only cost half of what the stainless steel one cost but for me it was still a waste of money. Yes, I do notice that fried potatoes taste just a tiny bit better when cooked there but I'll never do that again because it turns into such a mess, no matter how much oil I use and how many tutorials I read online. And I know that it is supposed to develop a patina over time and be better than any non stick pan but it's just such a pain in the a** and I'll probably never get to that point.

My skillet was from amazon.de where the WMF version is much cheaper than amazon.com. But it looks pretty much like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-422-20-Contour-Stainless-Skillet/dp/B003CT33ZU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1415577910&sr=8-3&keywords=stainless+steel+pan which is quite cheap.

Disclaimer: my skillet was not pre-seasoned, maybe those are much better suited for a beginner. I did however not always read the best things about pre-seasoning. Btw: they are seasoned using soy-based vegetable oil.

Edit: sorry for the wall of text. I put all of my cast iron skillet frustration into it... ;)