I've had mostly German pointers (6, to be exact) my entire life and they're incredible dogs, but they need a lot of "jobs" to be content. They're not the best family dog for that reason, but they are pretty incredible otherwise.
I also have a black lab and his intellect is astounding at times. He also adores attention and is absurdly friendly (he's also sort of my boy, even though he's belongs to the family and I'd never say this out loud... but he obviously likes me the most, and I'm the only one he truly listens to).
BUT, the funniest, cutest, nicest dogs in the world are pugs. I've had my pug-man for 16 years, a little black pug girl who died too soon, and now another black pug girl and they are unbelievable dogs. They truly have a sense of humor, and despite their size they don't act like a small breed. Also while they're not bred for work and therefore not very high on the intelligence scale, they're not complete idiots either.