Mentioned it in another thread already, but will repeat here:
The best cheap joystick is T16000m, like some of the guys on the previous page are using - it uses Hall sensors, like the more expensive joysticks, but costs several times less. CH Pro is a very good throttle to add to a T16000m, but since I live in Eastern Europe, it was easier for me to get a much cheaper (and slightly worse) throttle - Gametrix ECS, which is Russian-made.
Logitech 3D is also a nice stick, the F.L.Y. 5 and T-Flight HOTAS on the other hand tend to fall apart in a couple of months - the build quality is garbage. Cheap plastic and potentiometer-based axis controls, that wear out too fast.
P.S. A keyboard + mouse setup is fine too, actually

For an average player, HOTAS is simply more fun, that's it. To get a real advantage over a keyboard+mouse on a HOTAS, you gotta have madskillz.