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If your friend is on a budget, a Ravenwing army is a very viable choice. Buying off eBay, the three Bikers from the DV box go for around $18. With a little conversion work and some extra meltaguns, that can be a 100 point unit. Other stuff gets more expensive, but it's still probably the cheapest viable non-Terminator army out there dollar-wise.
A standard all-Ravenwing army looks something like this:
HQ: Sammael on Corvex 200
HQ: Librarian on Bike, Mastery Level 2, Power Field Generator 150 (Take Telepathy powers, hope for Invisibility)
HQ: Ravenwing Command Squad, 2 extra Black Knights, Apothecary, Standard of Devastation, 1 Grenade Launcher 295
HQ: Ravenwing Command Squad, 2 extra Black Knights, Apothecary, Ravenwing Banner, 1 Grenade Launcher 245
TR: 6 Ravenwing Bikers, 2 Meltaguns, Attack Bike with Multimelta 236
TR: 6 Ravenwing Bikers, 2 Meltaguns, Attack Bike with Multimelta 236
TR: 6 Ravenwing Bikers, 2 Meltaguns, Attack Bike with Multimelta 236
TR: 6 Ravenwing Bikers, 2 Flamers 171
FA: Ravenwing Darkshroud 80
Total: 1849
If your local meta doesn't require a lot of Melta, consider ditching the Attack Bikes for more regular Bikes to maximize the shots from the Standard.
I'm in the process of starting a Ravenwing army too, so I'm not an authority, but this seems to be what others are doing, more-or-less. If fliers are a concern, the only decent options are taking Guard allies for Vendettas plus a blob behind an Aegis with a Quad Gun, in which case Azrael is probably a better HQ than Sammael, or taking Mortis Contemptor Dreadnoughts from Forge World.
As for your other questions, Sammael is probably better on the Jetbike, you want to keep the upgrades minimal to maximize the number of Bikers, and yes, Bikes can take Banners. Unless you're taking allies, it seems best to go all-out Bikes, to maximize your speed and use of both Banners.
Finally, I will mention that this army is also pretty easy to paint.
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