Some Gundam series

Gundam V(ictory): Is a pretty decent series but be warned I think its got the youngest main character of any of them he's like 12. Also Its the kind of series where everyone dies. It has its goofy moments like sending woman in bikini's after gundams armed with bazooka's and other such absurd things. So if that seems like it would appeal to you go for it.

Zeta Gundam: For me this series has aged pretty bad and the overall series was somewhat weak. Still it wasn't unwatchable by any means and to be fair I watched it without having ever seen the entirety of Mobile Suit Gundam so maybe that would add something.

Double Zeta Gundam: I actually HATED this one it was just outright retarded in a way that wasn't even funny for me. It was a absolute choir to watch a lot of the episodes of ZZ so I'd recommend avoiding this one.

Turn A Gundam: I've had this one forever and I've never made it past episode 1. The art style is so different then any other Gundam I've just never found myself able to get into it. Your experiences may differ.

Macross

SDF Macross: I would highly recommend watching this. I feel the story has held up quite well and the pace is pretty good overall. Its 36 episodes and I would recommend watching the Japanese version instead of the Robotech one.

Mospedia: This is the third series in Robotech called "New Generation" but it was the second one made in order of production. They simply felt for some reason Southern Cross fit better second. Anyway there is very little difference in this one between the Japanese and the Robotech version of this one. Overall its not a bad watch so I'd also recommend this one.

Southern Cross: aka The Masters in Robotech. This is easily the weakest of the bunch for me and really you don't miss much missing it. The Main character is one of Max/Miria's kids which are used for a lot of characters overall in the franchise.

Macross II: is a alternate continuity and isn't required watching for anything.

Macross Do you remember Love: Is a movie for the first series that is being made during the orignal SDF Macross. Overall it has very good animation for the time and basically gives you a alternate ending to the original series. Its worth watching as its really not that long.

Macross 7: This is the most controversial and easily the longest series in all of Macross.
You have to go into this knowing its a comedy and not ment to be SUPER serious like a lot of others in the series. However the music for this series is some of the best its a lot more rock with the only male singer you will find in any of the series. So if a guy running into the middle of a war and singing at people to make them stop fighting appeals to you the I'd certainly check it out. Note though you will have to give it a good 10 episodes. Note all of Ozuma's attack patterns in Macross frontier are songs from Macross 7 aka Planet dance and so on.

In the end I feel I've enjoyed Macross series overall more then Gundam ones. They have a timeline and all relate pretty directly to each other. While Gundams are really all over the place with the largest amount of them in the Universal century. Both clearly steal things from each others back and fourth.

As for all the OVA's and movies instead of the series. Really none of those are much of a commitment watch them as you feel like it but I tend to prefer series in both cases.