Guys I ordered the #2.5 because the #3 just wasn't cutting it. I wasn't making any progress at all - or at least it didn't feel like it.
Well, I must've been making SOME progress, because check out the first attempt on the #2.5:
I finally feel like I can actually get my hand around this one. I think I'll have it shut within a couple of months. It's brutal, but not hope-crushing brutal like the #3.