I came into road riding from a MTB background and drop bars do take a while to get used to. I don't think they're more dangerous and the advantages are that you have a variety of positions for your hands. This is useful just as a change on longer rides and the drops enable you to get out of the wind to some extent (noticeable when you're riding into a headwind).
Pure road bikes aren't the best for canal tow paths. The skinny tyres can be a bit skittish on gravel surfaces and IME speeds on tow paths tend to be relatively low - road bikes seem to work better at higher speeds! Worth noting that Cyclocross bikes generally come with drops.
I think in your position I'd go for a cheap-ish hybrid and see how you get on. If the bug bites you'll probably want to get a drop bar road bike in the future, but it's always useful to have a second bike for different riding conditions and to use as a spare if another one is off the road.
Good luck - let us know what you decide.
