I chose option 3 but under the corollary that its a fun and challenging period of time.
40 minutes of "locking aliens into last hive then knife rushing" is tedious. 1 hr or more of back-and-forth war over vital rts leaves me feeling very satisfied indeed.
After many long years of gaming (Pong, Combat, Star Control, C&C, HL, Quake, AvP, Godzilla: Save the Earth) the act of winning doesn't have the same thrill anymore. Its the CHALLENGE. Win or lose, if I had a gruelling and tense hour of warfare then I'm going to feel a lot better than a 1 minute shotgun rush win.
Its something you come to appreciate with age. Game win screens all tend to blend together.