My favourite starter Pokemon is and has always been Charmander. Its evolved forms are okay as far as strength and attacks are concerned, but as far as personal preference goes, Charmander outranks them both tenfold.
Cyndaquil is my second favourite starter overall, and my favourite of the Johto generation. Well, Cyndaquil and its first evolved form, Quilava, to be more accurate - I like those two Pokemon equally. Typhlosion... yeah, it's pretty strong in battle, and I do like it, but it doesn't get as much personal preference from me as its two pre-evolved forms.
I broke my fire-type tradition in the Hoenn generation by starting with Mudkip. Let's face it, Mudkip's just too adorable for words, and once it gets into its upper evolved stages, it's one heck of an opponent-kicking machine.