Is yoke better than stick for beginner/returning player? If yes which one to pick?

Depends on overall budget. Most comprehensive for the money is the V1 Flight. There is a ~$40 fix for the yoke shaft(etsy) that makes it really good. But you get levers and verniers and tons of hats and buttons.

It can be pared with the V1 flightstick and with a little bracket ju jitsu you can use the full quad with the flightstick too. Again, the V1 flightstick also does better with a mod(new spring-DIY) as it’s stiff. On PC you can use the throttle quad from the V1 with any joystick though. You do not need their ‘matching’ stick(but that works on XB together). Twist on the V1 flightstick is so stiff it’s not really useful if you don’t have pedals. I don’t use the throttle levers either.

But if you’re completely devoted to specific type/class flying you can of course go higher budget for airliner types or Honeycomb for GA or heli setups, etc. But you start needing multiple components as you go up such as throttle quads and verniers and other things that are all individual/modular(and pricey). I have 1500+ hours on the V1 with no issues(other than adding the etsy bracket for much smoother one-hand flying).

The included verniers are a high point with the V1. And with a flight stick you can use things like a lever throttle and vernier prop/mixture for matching prototypical cub-type aircraft. And move it all left/right for left stick/right throttle aircraft like a modern Cirrus.

It needs the least amount of components to do the most things.

For entry level something like the TM HOTAS is still a staple as it does okay-enough for a lot of things with an easy twist, throttle that can somewhat emulate a collective for well under $100 to get started with. The twist stick is actually far more precise than their entry TFRP pedals. I still have one around for periodic heli use.

I can move the yoke clamped off to the side and use that quad left/right with a stick too. Easy peasy. Heck you can fly from the right seat if you like.