RE: 4ch Heli for beginner.
Of the list you posted, I'm familiar with the falcon/honeybee/walkera 4. On "calm days" they fly pretty good. They can take a lot of abuse, and very cheap and easy to repair. A backyard is big enough to learn orientation skills - tail,side and nose in hover.
The 180d has a special flybar and head setup that makes it a bit more stable.
The walkera 180z is the same as that madhawk (actually pretty much all of the xceed stuff is rebranded walkera. The falcon is a walkera 4, etc.) The 180z has a 3 way gyro. I've flown my brothers 4#6, which is a smaller version of the 180z. That 3 way gyro makes a huge difference. If I was buying I would get the 180z. These guys have good prices and quite a few different setups available - they have a couple of brushless versions that are in your price range. [link]http://www.wowhobbies.com/walkera-cb180z-180d-180q-helicopter.aspx[/link]