I'd argue A3S was one of the best encounters in the game, it'd perhaps be my all time favourite if it was a little more visually appealing and had have been positioned as the final boss of the tier instead.

Slight derail but it's a fair opinion, I'd also chalk up A4S as one of the worst designed encounters in the game. The concept and vision was good, but it was just horridly executed. Nisi/Pentacle just didn't work as intended whilst the Manipulator itself was just a boring static lump that sat there pooping out the occasional missile. I count myself lucky that I was with a wonderful fun and friendly group for it as they provided the entertainment, not the boss.

Gordias works for me because I quite enjoyed A1S/A2S as well, they weren't as impressive as Midas (nothing else has been really), but they were well tuned and Faust was a fantastic troll of a gate keeper