Strongest of the trilogy?

Weakest. The rushed post-production schedule really shows in the rather shoddy editing and FX work and Jackson being given more creative control by this point led to some very questionable decision making.

I also think they dropped the ball on the script here with stuff like Frodo sending Sam home, Arwen dying for no reason, the Army of the Dead wiping away the forces at Minas Tirith etc...

Basically I think the first two had a real lived-in historical fantasy feel with a certain subtlety and focus on smaller character moments while this one is much more a loud, dumb, CGI ridden action flick.

Dropped the ball on the script?
All the actions that the characters do in this film are from the book
Jackson didn't decide to do that

I like Fellowship best but all 3 are great : not much difference between a 9, a 9.5 and a 10.

Two Towers still impresses me on rewatches. I can never forget the greatest battle sequence in the history of cinema, it was beautifully shot and Gimli and Legolas bonded.

Be careful not to choke on your aspirations, Director.
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The Two Towers was the strongest, in my mind.
I always try to judge these movies from the perspective of the non-book reader.
The Two Towers strenght:

1. The character development was better-we learn a ton about Aragorn. The relationship between Frodo and Sam solidifies, Middle Earth is developed further-Ents, the scope of the war, Saruman and wizards in general, and we learn much more about orcs et al.

2. The action is better than Return of the King. Don't get me wrong; the battle for Minas Tirith is awesome, but the battle for Helms Deep is more personal. Helms Deep is where Aragorn becomes, in my opinion, a true leader, and Theodan is introduced as a massive hero.

3. Better storytelling. Return of the King just lacks pacing. For instance, the deciding factor of the Minas Tirith battle is Aragorn arriving with the army of the dead. That whole scenario cries out for more screen time, and better development as to why Aragorn himself was so pivotal. Also, the time sequencing is more accurate in Two Towers, I think.
A lot of dead time in Return; lots of characters looking into each others eyes, tear-jerking moments....Two Towers had some, but it was much less.

Loved the series, just watched the entire thing over 2 days again, still love it.

Definitely the best of the three.

Regardless of what technical flaws it has (and I don't think there are many since all three films are among the greatest cinematic marvels ever made), it's the most emotionally powerful, the most exciting, and the most just plain fun of the three films.

Nothing in the previous two comes close to the adrenaline rush of the charge of the Rohirrim at Pellenor Fields, I liked the Army of the Dead being involved in the finale of the battle, and the movie heightened all of the genre-bending awesomeness that made the first two so great. Aragorn's speech at the Black Gate and his "for Frodo" moment before the charge are my favorite moments of his from the trilogy. ROTK is the pinnacle of epic, climactic filmmaking for me, much more satisfying than its predecessors.

I agree that Frodo sending Sam home was a rather poor storytelling decision, but I can find some things I dislike about nearly any film ever made, including the all time greats.

It was a satisfying wrap up to the series that really got me interested in the technical/aesthetic side of movies and made me interested in all different genres by showing me the best of each of them.

As for this one being such a "CGI-fest," it didn't have much more CGI than the previous films did, the fact that it seems like it did and the film is so much larger scaled without a whole lot more money being used demonstrates how effectively the budget was used here.

+++by His wounds we are healed. - Isaiah 53:5+++

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Yes, definitely the strongest. So many epic scenes, like the Lighting of the Beacons and the Charge of the Rohirrim.