Quoted from 27dnast:

I owned IM for a few years. If you set it up right it has a ton of speed. Rules are easy to understand... layout is simple. Game times can be quick.
All that being said, I'd never own it as a single pin. I slowly got bored of it in a 12 game collection... I think as a single pin it would have lasted about 2 months.
It's a fun game - but not a stand alone game.
Of all the games I've ever owned, the only one I'd keep as a single pin is WOZ. Most players won't camp on it... rules are ridiculously deep but has basic things to do that novices can accomplish.
You're going to find a million and one opinions on this.... but I'd strike IM off your list.

Quoted from Guinnesstime:

Exactly. Why skip it? I got there once. Final mode is timed. You'll never ever ever ever complete that one. Ever. You need to hit every switch. Have fun!

Quoted from Eskaybee:

SM hands down in a small lineup! However....
...you wont like it on factory due to long ball times. But, the rules are perfect for short to medium ball time games - so remove the center post and you will be styling. And i even recommend taking it a step further and put in lightning flippers. Game is awesome, fast, and nerve wrecking for the good (i.e. risk/reward) with that setup.

Quoted from jgentry:

It's possible if your POA is working correctly. I've done it once.

If you don't play the modes your score is going to suck and you won't get enough extra balls to have a chance at starting all of the modes.
All 3 are really good games so I would just go with what you prefer. I don't agree with the people saying IM is not deep enough. What's the point of more code on that one when you will never ever see it. IM is all about trying to time up for that big jackpot which is super rewarding.

Quoted from pascal-pinball:

1: SM
2: IJ



987: IM

Quoted from jgentry:

Score no points, get laughed at by the people that have their initials all over your game, and likely drain trying to hit the mode shot anyway. Most players can't hit the mode shot enough times to even start them all. Depending on how the game is set up it's not a very forgiving shot and often times is rejected. IJ actually has fun modes with huge points so I'm not sure what the point of skipping them would be. Anyone that just ignores choose wisely needs a kick in the groin anyway.

Quoted from kungfucop:

I've got all three, but if I had to only choose one I'd keep IM just because I like my ass handed to me over and over again. Thank you sir, may I have another?

Quoted from Eskaybee:

and SM ruleset compliments short, medium, and long ball time games which is why I'm digging it so much with it setup hard.

Quoted from Shadrac:

SM is boring and sounds/music are repetitive and annoying.
IJ is a great mode based game so if you like that it's fine.
IM is just the better game of the history of pinball
Just my opinion, but i love so much IM that if i have to keep just one game it will be IM.
Just put a shaker and a better cabinet speaker, turn up the volume and enjoy the adrenaline rush

Quoted from kvan99:

There are some seriously some bad advise here. You said you like fast games...stay away from Indy. Aside from a great theme it's a widebody with a weird design. It's not fast. I admire SKB's breakdown of the rules but by removing the center post and adding alternate flippers you're basically saying the game is flawed in stock condition. That leaves IM..which is not a great one and only pin...not sure if one even exists. I find I would get bored of any one game collection. So my advice buy the one you enjoy playing..you will get bored either way.

Quoted from Eskaybee:

Absolutely, but don't tell Steve Ritchie I said that And there's nothing wrong with making a game harder or even easier to compliment the ruleset for your skill level. Keefer has even said this before (I believe here on pinside), something to the matter of not understanding why more people don't tweak their games harder and adjust the factory rules easier to shorten up ball times - I think it was in an LOTR discussion. I even heard he removed the center post from his hobbit test machine when building the ruleset. That's why there's adjustments to be made in pinball. And on SM, I'd rather make the flipper gap and center post harder than the outlanes - I just find it more fun and I've tested both when I owned original SM. I used to get so much flack on pinside for me bashing SM back in the day. It's just not a fun game when it's setup so easy that every game is long and repetitious and being able to have any and all multipliers lit at will.
i find it funny when people with 10+ pin collections think they know what a one pin lineup is like and what pin would be the best to have. I've had a 2-pin lineup for awhile now (used to be 3 a year ago, and was up to 5 before that). The bottom line is I don't know what tastes the OP has, he wanted an opinion for his own insight on these 3 pins; having experience with 2 of those 3 in a small (2 pin) lineup, I felt compelled to add my feedback. He can take it or leave it, it's no skin off my nose. I just love pinball and like to share my stories to those I relate with when I can.

Quoted from rawbars:

This is a great combo right here. I had TS and BSD in a line up for quite awhile. Trying to line everything up to get the triple multi ball stack on BSD is infuriating but when it happens it's awesome. Definitely has that IM vibe of simple but difficult rules.
TS has more depth, lots of ways to approach the game to get high scores or try and complete modes etc to get to final battle and it can have more of a quest type feel which I like from time to time.
I eventually sold both. But I would take either one back if one popped up close by in good shape for a fair price.
I currently have IMVE, AC/DC prem and Metpro. It's a fun line up. But I've had it for almost a year and something has to move. AC/DC will probably stay awhile. And lately I have fallen back in love with IMVE. So I'm thinking I may try and move my Metpro for either a SM or add some cash and try and do TWD prem.

Quoted from rai:

TWD pro or premium imo is great due to the rules.
The layout is fun and different fast games, but what really makes it special is the excellent dots, sound effects and available sound packages with both redone callous and music.
What really sets it high is that it's not the same game over and over. SM and IM while great is more or less just completing the same 4-5 tasks over and over again to get deeper and score.
I don't feel like you need a premium TWD it's probably nice, but if you can find a good pro don't feel like it's much worse than the premium
TWD is more like Tspp in that you can focus on one objective more than another if you wish to get to a different part of the game.