Best feat: Two Weapon Fighting
Remove a lot of the penalty of using two weapons.
Tie for second best feat: Weapon Focus (short sword)
Use two short swords. This lets you get +1 attack on each weapon.
Tie for second best feat: Weapon Finesse
This lets you use DEX instead of STR for the attack. Two weapon users usually have high DEX, and not so great STR. This helps on the hitting side, but does nothing for damage.
However, there is a basic problem with two weapon fighting:
You only get to use it when you have full round attacks. If you have to move, you cannot use it. If you expect Sneak Attack to help, you must factor in that you won't get flanking regularly and that enemies try to get un-flanked.
It is things like this that make me think going two-weapon-fighting was a bad choice for my character. Yes, it is fun to make extra attacks, but when you cannot hit the broad side of a barn, the fun goes away.
Biggest advice is make the enemy come to you. They get one attack after closing, but you reply with a full round attack.
/cevah
If you are using traits one of them is River Rat that gives you +1 to damage with daggers that stacks with everything. Combine that with the Unchained Rogue who gets Weapon Finesse for free at level 1 and dex to damage at level 3, Two Weapon Fighting as level 1 feat and Weapon Focus daggers as your level 2 rogue talent by level 3 you have some reliable to hit and respectable damage even without sneak attack.
Tell us what are your ability scores and a bit of what you want to do with the rogue.
As a dual wielder rogue you NEED as many + to hit as possible. When you get a magic weapon, never enchant it with "flame" but instead just add +1, +2 etc, as hitting is your most important stat. The exception is a enchantment called Menacing, giving +4 instead of +2 on flanks.
Advice about twf as above and otherwise remember to get to flanking, use invisibility, high terrain, anything you can to get those + to hit so you can land your sneak attacks!
As for a great talent: Offensive Defense.
Well you could easily get your starting to-hits early on:
1st level: Two weapon Fighting
2nd level: Rogue Talent: Weapon Focus: Dagger ( +1 to daggers )
3rd level: Deific Obedience: Pharasma ( +2 to daggers )
By then you have +5 to hit before your attribute modifiers, and if you are a unchained rogue you just go dex to at least 16, so you get +3 and end up with +8 on a single attack, or +6 on both of your attacks.
And by level 3 you should have masterwork or +1 weapons at least so, you are back to +7/+7.
SRD:
Prerequisite: Dex 17, Int 13, Combat Expertise, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting, base attack bonus +6.
Benefit: While using Two-Weapon Fighting to make melee attacks, you can forgo your first primary-hand melee attack to make a Bluff check to feint an opponent. If you successfully feint, that opponent is denied his Dexterity bonus to AC until the end of your turn.
You cannot get Improved Two-Weapon Fighting until BAB 6 at level 8. You cannot get it via a trick. Therefore, you cannot get it until level 9. Improved Two Weapon Feint is also not available via a trick, so it needs another feat. That means level 11.
The benefit is trading a full BAB attack for a chance to deny dex on the opponent for the rest of your attacks. Given the classes lack of BAB plusses, and the TWF penalty, those remaining hits will still have a hard time hitting. It does help getting sneak attack damage. Perhaps someone can do the DPR calculation.
Either way, this is a mid to high level option, and the OP want the low level choice.
/cevah
Is this character for PFS? A particular module? A home brew campaign? Different tactics are better at different points in your character's career.
Do you want to dual wield short swords because you think it will work well or for independent aesthetic reasons? As others have posted, daggers are probably a better option if you're going for two weapon fighting. This is mostly because of Deific Obedience to Pharasma giving you +2 to hit with daggers.
As for feats and such, what you really want to focus on as a rogue are (1) hitting people, and (2) getting sneak attack damage. Avoid any options that lower your to-hit (i.e. Piranha Strike). Dracoknight has the numbers up above for your best choices.
The iconic rogue image in a lot of people's minds is the whirlwind of flashing attacks that all miss... don't be that guy.
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SRD:
Prerequisite: Dex 17, Int 13, Combat Expertise, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting, base attack bonus +6.
Benefit: While using Two-Weapon Fighting to make melee attacks, you can forgo your first primary-hand melee attack to make a Bluff check to feint an opponent. If you successfully feint, that opponent is denied his Dexterity bonus to AC until the end of your turn.
You cannot get Improved Two-Weapon Fighting until BAB 6 at level 8. You cannot get it via a trick. Therefore, you cannot get it until level 9. Improved Two Weapon Feint is also not available via a trick, so it needs another feat. That means level 11.
The benefit is trading a full BAB attack for a chance to deny dex on the opponent for the rest of your attacks. Given the classes lack of BAB plusses, and the TWF penalty, those remaining hits will still have a hard time hitting. It does help getting sneak attack damage. Perhaps someone can do the DPR calculation.
Either way, this is a mid to high level option, and the OP want the low level choice.
/cevah
Take the "feat" to grab at 10.
Early on, just take feats you like
Weapon focus/TWF/improved TWF are the basis of course. When I build a combat rogue, they often look like this-
I'll assume you want low-light/Dark vision so no human feat.
1- Iron will
2- weapon focus -light weapon of choice-
3- TWF (combat trick)
5- combat expertise
6- Improved TwF
7- W/e. Potentially pick up a rogue talent.
9- w/e I like improved fient
10- improved Two weapon fient.
I forget that option, because the archetype I have has Invisible Blade, which is the go-to-choice for 10th level.
/cevah
I'm not a ninja. I'm a merchant.
Actually, the rogue's vanish SLA is capped at 5 rounds, but the ninja's is not capped. And with Invisible Blade, becomes greater invisibility. Match that, URogue.
/cevah