You don't need a darkroom to process your own film. You just need a changing bag to load the reels and then someplace to do the work. Or even load the film in a closet at night.(posted 8677 days ago)But the C-41 processed films are great to try B&W. If you are going to have them printed on real B&W paper, the Ilford XP2+ works better becuase of the lack of orange mask. The Kodak films (especially Kodak B&W Select) print better on color paper at the mini labs.
WRT TMax films, they are known to be more sensitive to time, temperature, and agitation than the older technology films. They just don't have the latitude for typical beginner mistakes like the older emulsions.