Hm. I'd say they're totally different.
Do you intend to work with bitmap graphics more or with vector art? Do you intend to create webgraphics as JPEG, GIF, PNG or do you want to get into Flash-programming?
Now that Adobe has bought Macromedia, I'd say it's a bit "safer" to start with Adobe CS 2, if what you want to do is to just start somewhere... And you can't really beat Photoshop. Illustrator vs. FreeHand is like vi vs. emacs: An age-old war, and it all depends on what people are _used_ to, so if you're not used to creating vector art _yet_, you're free to choose. I've always used Illustrator and never could really work with FreeHand, so I'm biased.
