Definitely IX would be my first choice. I got my girlfriend, who is a non-gamer, to play it and she really loved it. She had no trouble with the battle system either, though I had to help her with some things as she didn't want to level-grind.

If not that, then I'd suggest X. It seems to be a lot easier to get in to for people new to the series, at least from what I've read of people's accounts.

I disagree with what you're saying with VII. It's definitely the easiest game of the PS1-era series.