But you will be unable to do out of position work with a mig. If you don't believe me, please weld up a vertical tee joint, cut a few 1" thick segments, and bend them in a vise, a few each way. Money says they will open up in the root or toe of the weld due to lack of fusion. It can definitely be done, but it's much harder than stick welding, and if you can't stick weld you won't stand a chance at pulling it off.
The nice thing about 6010s and 11s is that you get automatic feedback of how you are doing and what you are doing wrong. They are easy to start if you simply stick them at an angle, grab it like a cigarette, and then wiggle them free, that's how's it's done on the pipeline if you don't run an auto lens in your pancake, because you can't nod a pancake hood down. By using your other hand a few inches from the rod you gain tons of control, and will learn to not make arc marks all over, which when welding pipe will get you fired. 6010s and 11s will also be an excellent rod choice to weld on just about anything, so to me it makes sense to learn them first, because you will end up reaching for them often (especially when you get comfortable).
Dave, an sa200 will be terrible for a generator, most only supply 115 v dc, and 10 amps (they will handle 15, but you do risk burning up exciter coils). All dc generator style machines (sa 200, sae 300, big blue 40, basically slow turning water cooled types with little to no computers) have an exciter circuit, and a generator (for welding) circuit. While they put out around 300 amps on the welding end, the exciter circuit is used for powering grinders and stuff and then to supply the power for the electromagnet coils in the welding generator end. So basically any little generator will supply more power for tools than a sa200. What these types of machines do tho, is burn stick rods like there's no tomorrow. They all have what's called a dropping arc curve, which in real life means you can control exactly how much the amperage changes as you change your arc length.
So not only do you have amperage control, you also have another control that is voltage/ slope of volt amp curve. For example, when welding pipeline, you will weld a large variety of pipe sizes and wall thicknesses, but will often do one size over and over again for awhile. Since speed is critical, if I'm welding fill and cap passes all day, i can set my machine to have a stiff arc with just enough voltage at my set amperage to wet out the puddle to make it pretty. You do this by choosing the range first, then setting your fine tune in the location you want for the arc characteristics, then adjusting the rpms on the governor to dial your heat in perfect. This will be as good as your machine can possibly run, so you can keep up with everybody else. When welding with low hydrogen rods, you can run in a higher gear, but then dial back the voltage. This allows you to jam the rod tight on the sides (bumping up amperage dramatically depositing more weld), then lift the rod when going over the middle (increases voltage while decreasing amperage, cooling the puddle and causing it to wet out smoothing the surface).
Inverters and transformer machines do this to a point with either ranges and arc force/ control knobs. They can't quite replicate the arc exactly tho, which is why Lincoln still makes and sells tons of dc generator style welders at 5 times the cost of the more common generator transformer/ inverter kinds such as the Lincoln ranger, Miller bobcat and trailblazer, and the Hobart champion. These machines have a large ac alternator, which then it converts to dc, much like a shop machine. Most can power all sorts of tools and stuff, i use my Miller trailblazer during power outages. All are good machines, but won't weld like the generators. You really notice the difference with 6010, which is why 6011 is ideal for most people. The non generator machines kinda suck with 6010, especially the inverters because they don't have enough voltage in the arc. This leads to a harsh arc that lacks the responsiveness and adjustability with arc length.