I also remember getting loads of samples. I think because some ladies caught me outside the MCH and I filled up a form. Or I think when my husband was in the supermarket, the lady at the counter realised we were expecting and gave him a handful.
Anyway, the choice was between Huggies, Pampers and Pampers Premium. We actually didn't buy the diapers till the morning after my bub was born to the annoyance of the public hospital. But we had enough samples there for them to use for that period.
What decided it for me was size. My baby was small and the Huggies fit better. So my tip is don't buy a very large pack of whatever you decide initially. I never found a big difference between the Pampers premium so we then switched the regular Pampers, again for better fit.
We always used Huggies wipes, the ones claiming to be natural/alcohol free.