You won't get a real answer for which is "best". If there truly was a best solution out there, it's what we would all be running.
Everybody has their preferences, everybody has heard of a problem with whichever choice of app is out there. Every app is going to be able to catch some things, while missing others. New things will slip by some apps and be caught by others. And everybody will have different surfing habits dictating a possible need for better protection.
Personally, my web surfing is pretty safe. I don't search for illegal software, i don't search for serial numbers, I don't pirate music, movies, etc, I don't use torrents for things other than Linux distros...etc. Therefore, I don't need hardcore protection to keep myself reasonably safe.
I therefore use Microsoft Security Essentials (in Windows 7) and Windows Defender (The new name for security essentials in Windows 8). I do an occasional scan with Malware Bytes which practically never finds anything. I surf pretty much exclusively with Google Chrome. This solution has worked just fine for me. Your mileage will vary.
The July 2014 issue of Maximum PC did a comparison of 10 AV apps. It gave top scores to Bitdefender Internet Security, Norton Internet Security. High scores also went to Eset Smart Security and Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus. As far as free goes, they gave the top marks to Avira Free Antivirus.
But keep in mind, each of these products has pros and cons. Some add seconds to startup time, some index files and scan more quickly on future scans, while others take nearly just as long the second time around. Some negatively impact file transfer speeds. You have to review each product to determine which is going to be best suited to you.