The iPad Mini 2 is fantastic if you can spare $300. The build quality, performance, screen quality, and battery life are either best in class or at least make it very competitive.
For half the price you can also get a Nexus 7 (2013) instead. The build quality isn't quite as good and it might be lacking in tablet-optimized apps versus iOS (but phone apps scale better on Android than iOS), but it's probably the best tablet you can get for the price. I've had both tablets and you really can't go wrong with either, but the Mini 2 does feel like a more premium and smoother device. You can do all of those tasks easily on either.
If you need a larger tablet, the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 (under $300) or the Nexus 9 ($400) are two of the nicer Android tablets you can get for under the pricing of the iPad Air/Air 2. I'm never sure of what Samsung's latest tablet is, so you might have to double check on that.
If you needed more productivity (i.e. run legacy desktop apps, connect to a dock, etc), I have Windows tablet recommendations, but if you want a smooth UI tablet it's better to either wait for tablets shipping with Windows 10 if you do any sort of multitasking. Otherwise if you have the money for at least a Surface 3 (starting price is $500 if I remember correctly) it's smack in the middle between a consumption and productivity device without some of the issues a cheaper Windows tablet might have.
The Dell Venue 8 Pro is only $170 at Best Buy, though, and it's one of the cheapest tablets you can get with a decent stylus/pen. OneNote is amazing for note taking with a pen.