Ok. Let me see if I can adress some of your questions.
1)Can anyone give me a better break down of the job classes and races than are listed on the website?
Well Yes and No. And it depends on if your talking about for PvP or not. There are 30 some classes but since your interested in the DW classes that narrows it a bit.
Merc - Hard hitting, great for taking on any other class in RvR. A well played merc can do well and are usually looked for in gank groups as well.
Blade Master - Good class, has interesting special abilities. Can stand about blow for blow with merc's.
Berzerker - Though not as UBER as they once were. A zerked out zerker can really bring the pain.
Inf, SB, NS all basically the same thing just with different special abilities etc etc. (Not reccomended for PvE only)
How's the character creation in this game?
Char creation in the demo version sucks, however if you do purchase the full version it is alot more robust. The graphics will not blow you away. The game is 4 years old and in no way can graphically compete with alot of the newer games out there.
Does your armor change your appearance?
Armor wont change your character too much, other than stats. Winged helm has wings, weapons have glowies, but there are no big things sticking out of you like in WoW. You can however dye your armor to personalize your color scheme. And as frustrating as the crafting system is DAOC is probably the best game for Min/Max your character to your personal likes.
Whats the economy and such like?
The economy is inflated, but what MMO isnt?