Which portable Linux would you recommend?
For personal use, I would recommend OpenSuse. Go to their Official Website for more details.
Is there any version that allows me to install full Linux software or do all of them do it and I have yet to discover this?
Yeah, they allow installing full Linux software which can be achieved by making the persistent USB flash drive. Using Softwares like one I attached.So I am looking towards the portable flavors, do any of them have an IDE (Netbeans) as well as office suites?
Well, you can use WINE for installing most(well most) of the Windows Applications in Linux Distros.
I also recommend using a 3.0 flash drive for getting performance otherwise, you may experience some desktop freezing.
Universal-USB-Installer-1.9.6.3.exe