This summer I moved almost exclusively to the 3 fly rigin'. Everything you mentioned does hold true, but if I'm putting more fish in the net, I dont neccesarily mind losing a few flies to my net. My biggest reason for moving to the 3 fly setup is that, often times, there are three flies that I absolutely must have on my line. My lead fly is usually a larger attractor (san juan, scud, PT, hothead leech, prince, Rainbow warrior etc.) My secon fly in the tandom is usually an emerger of some sort or a sunken adult immitation (barrs, RS2, sunken trico, caddis emerger, or a blood midge). My final fly is usually a midge, or a midge emerger. I can say that on any day the tandom I'm about to mention will serve you well on just about any stretch of water in CO year round. Point fly: Rainbow Warrior18-20, Trailor: RS2: 20-22, dropper: black beauty 20-24. Obviously there is some give or take in patterns, but if I was given only three flies on any river...thats how I would go. Vary the length of tippet between flies depending on conditions. If your in swift water and or discolored water your going to want to keep you flies rather snug probably about 9"-13" of space between flies. If your in slow clear water, give yourself a little more separation 12-18". Another thing to keep in mind is that since your rig will be about a foot and a half longer and your final fly will be small and thus not sink very well....it is important to trim down on the spacing between your split shots and your point fly. Stay between 12-18 inches and make sure all your flies are getting down. If there is moss and your not cleaning your flies every other cast or so, you aren't in the hit zone.