longest stretch you played on one game. (excluding mmo's)

[Isengard]

do it in this order...

7,8,9,10,12,3,4 then if u really want to 11 (11 is an mmo)

+1
Best order to enjoy them in indeed .

I'd still love to get into the FF scene. Where should I start? #1 or a little further down the line if there's not important plots to catch up on?

The stories and characters for each game is completely different, so are the worlds they reside in, so it doesn't matter in that sense, but you'd enjoy the canon best if you started at 7. There are small things that tie the games together, like Chocobo's and Cid, to name a few.