You can use Inkscape to build figures themselves and if you want to pull multiple panels into a single frame sometimes simplest is best: just dump all the panels into power point and shift them about! You will eventually need to find a style that works for you.
If that doesn't work, there are other bits of software you can use like MS Visio.
Adobe Illustrator is the best option to work with shapes of various sizes and types, but it is only easy for experts who can easily create, delete, and regenerate any kinds of shapes. For average work, Photoshop is easy to understand and go with. Everyone gets afraid of the pexelated thing of Photoshop, but every image is pixel-based, which you will upload; you just have to select High DPI to get the best version.