im going to buy one, which should i get? good combat is probably the most important thing. also, i have a gamepad if that changes anything (not a joystick, but maybe better than a mouse and keyboard).

Depends on what you want. They're very different, but if combat is the primary thing your looking for, I think that Freespace 2 would be your thing. While I like both games, I find that the controls for D3 feels... weird. Can't really explain it, it has something to do with overall sensitivity on everything.

I'd say Freespace 2.
Its pretty much the best game of its kind.
But like the poster above me said they are different types of games.