I usually recommend to go for the challenge that you think is the most interesting/fun instead of directly easiest. Champions add quite a bit of variety to combat, badder bosses make interesting tweaks to bosses, FIMA forces you into a playstyle where you avoid taking hits as best as you can, pharmacophobia forces you to proactively avoid bad situations by taking away the easy solution to all problems, etc. Choose whatever you like

I’d say you can’t go terribly wrong with choosing a first challenge, even the hardest challenge (pharmacophobia) doesn’t make the game terribly difficult if it’s the only thing you enabled (it was my first challenge even), so don’t worry

Enemies can walk over hidden traps as if they don’t exist for some reason. They will avoid a trap only if it’s revealed to you

Not really. I would hate these traps if they were in sewers, but it’s caves, by this point it’s really unlikely that you have no options to deal with them. They give you one turn before you fall and you can use a consumable, artifact or subclass ability to get out of its range and you’re fine

I know, imo it’s still significatly less valuable than the additional uncurse and most importantly full satiety. If I find a health well on 9chal I’m really happy because that means 2 floors without starving

I will not miss an opportunity to say that pharma is the best challenge

that’s usually kind of a waste. Using wells directly also fully removes hunger and uncurses, so why waterskins?