Heh. Pretty funny comparison, and a great 80's reference.
Yeah, The Road Warrior was indeed the best of the 3 in my opinion, for the same reasons stated above. The first was almost a spoof, and the third was just plain bad because they pussed it down from an R rating to gain more 'kiddie appeal'. Thunderdome COULD have been utterly awesome. They had all the ingredients, and even a decent storyline. IMO it's pretty much the same story with the Mummy movies and Riddick. As soon as they back off of an R rating, they just tank completely.
On a side note, I heard lots of rumors about a 4th Road Warrior movie, but they seem to have mothballed it because they weren't able to get Mel to commit. I would have paid to see that one, as long as it was rated R.