[mr beer]

GURPS is best described as a toolkit for a system rather than a system. Herein lies the problem because there are dozens of supplements, which leads a bewildering array of choices. It's extremely helpful to get guidance for which supplements to use for given settings.

Based on your post, I recommend the DF set as a jumping off point because its self contained. It's also better at doing D&D than D&D is, in my opinion, specifically the system is better at combat and more interesting.

A recurring theme that makes GURPS much easier to use for newer places and GMs is the notion of character templates. These are effectively a sort of quasi-'class'. So the template will be for a certain number of points, for a type of character (or NPC) and will specify certain pre-bought characteristics and guide optional points buys.

To answer other questions:

- GURPS is both more and less complicated than Pathfinder. It's a cleaner, more intuitive and more consistent system. The sheer number of possible game options is much broader, though there is a lot less 'class based' information.

- 'more balanced' - possibly for a given value of 'balanced'. Being a points buy system you would think equal points = equal utility, but this depends vastly upon the setting and what restrictions a GM puts into place.

- no classes, yes it's generally easier to realise a concept in GURPS than other systems.

- 'system mastery' is a slippery term, it's going to depend on how quickly you come to grips with systems, how much time you spend doing so and how much effort you want to put into conversion.

- these forums are an excellent resource for GURPS questions.

The above answers hint at issues new GURPS users will encounter, which is why I recommend getting the DF box set. It will remove the problems of having to make rules choices.

Again, these forums are an excellent resource for any GURPS-based questions you have.