DS3 is by far the best and most shit on game in the series(by the community). I will start this by providing the arguments for why people say it's the worst, and
attempt to counter them. People say DS3 is a ripoff/has too much fanservice of DS1. To this I say, yes DS3 is a mirror to DS1. DS2 attempted (and failed) to do the
same thing. Many enemy desgins in DS3 are similar to DS1. I agree, though it personally does not bother me. Many sections of the world are similar to DS1, I agree,
but only on the caveat that DS2 has similar area designs to DS1, except for a few unique ones(which were shit: earthen peak). DS3 also has several of its own
unique areas, like archdragon peak. It also has an excuse for its mirror to DS1 (and in some cases in the DLC DS2) in the lore. People complain about the world
design of DS3. Yes, it is no longer interconnected like DS1. However, unlike DS1, it has a good second half. DS3 is more linear(with branches), but I think it makes
up for it in all the other ways. DS3's world is also very consistent(watch ds3 dissected), unlike DS2's world. People complain that DS3 is too fast. To that I say
the gameplay loop is the same as DS1, but a bit faster. Those who can't keep up, can't keep up. If you liked the combat in DS1, DS3's is very similar, just with
faster rolling and enemy attacks(It is by far closer to DS1 than Bloodborne). People say DS3 is too "anime". I have come to interpret this as: some weapon arts are
too flashy, and giving you the ability to flip around is bad. This is a rediculous argument as the vast majority of weapons have simple weapon arts like stance,
and most of the crazy flippy weapons are located in the DLCs. In addition, anyone who hates flips hates Artorias( and his sword). People complain about the magic,
and I completely agree. People complain about a lack of poise. This is confusing to me as poise is really broken in DS1. It's really easy to get high poise, and
this meant you would never stagger when getting hit. This is severely unbalanced. In DS3 poise is much more subtle, and used to calculate how much hyper armor
you get during attacks. Anyone who has done any reasearch into DS3 poise knows that it works fine and is mostly balanced. In addition to the (mostly bad) complaints
about DS3, DS3 also has a lot of unique, good things about it. It has by far the best and most consistant combat in the series. Enemies are well designed challenges
and not often spammed. The bosses are the best in the series. Yes there are some bad ones, but even the worst DS3 boss (Curse-Rotted Greatwood imo) is better than
most DS1 and DS2 bosses. DS3 pvp is far more fair than the others(at high levels), as its all about predicting and out-thinking your opponent, as opposed to landing
the first in a chain of backstabs(DS1), or landing the first in a chain of stunlocks(DS2). DS3 is definitely a flawed game, but the gameplay is by far the best in
the series, which combined with the other good things makes it the best Dark Souls game.

DS1 is a great game. I put it higher than DS2 for its good parts(and DS2's bad parts). First, it has a mostly consistent and interconnected world design.
This is the aspect that is most often praised and it is well deserved. The difficulty is hard yet fair, for the most part. The story and loreis mostly consistant,
and is interwoven throughout the world, the enemies, and the npcs. Every character in the game has motivations beyond what the player wants and needs. This all
comes together to create a world that feels real. This is by far the best part of the game. If this game got a proper remaster it would be a 10/10. The bad
parts(and DS3's good parts) keep DS1 below DS3. The combat is very easy to take advantage of. Almost all enemies can be backstabbed, and backstabs are very easy to
pull off. They also do massive damage. This means most enemies can be beaten quickly and easily the same way. A good challenge run of DS1 would be no backstabs.
Heavy armor and shields are very strong. You can get Havel's set halfway through the game, and never need to roll again(This also cheeses most late game bosses).
Hitboxes can be wonky, enemy ai is a joke. There is a hilarious lack of anticheat, and really bad netcode, leading to near unplayable pvp. For a game without a
proper jump, there is way too much platforming, and its not always clear what is safe to stand on(try approaching the hydra or climbing the great hollow). Most of
the bosses are bad. Capra, Moonlight Butterfly, Gaping Dragon, Gwyndolin, Ceaseless, Centipede Demon, Bed of Chaos. Most of the bosses are bad. Lost Izalith is shit.
This combination of great and terrible is why DS1 is in the middle of this list.

DS2 is the worst game in the series. There are several reasons for this. First, world design is lazy. It's clear based on Majula that they attempted to maintain world consistency like DS1 but clearly gave up on later portions of the game. This is evident as there are multiple areas visible from Majula, like multiple areas are visible from DS1's firelink shrine. However, almost nowhere else in the game has this effect. This allows them to place areas anywhere they want without caring about the overall map. The worst example of this is iron keep and its lake of lava being directly above earthen peak's windmill and open sky, whilst each not being visible from the other. ADP was a mistake. Putting a stat on your i-frames makes that stat the most valuable, which undermines the build making part of the game. Enemies drop too many souls. It's possible (and easy) to get to the end of the game softcapping health, stamina, strength, dexterity, and intelligence, with some levels leftover. Hitboxes are terrible, as evident from anyone who has played the game for an extended period of time. Enemies are constantly spammed in areas to lazily make up for a lack of individual difficulty. Bosses are reused and often a lazily put together group of enemies such as the royal rat vanguard (literally a bunch of rats). Soul memory is a lazy way of preventing high level players from invading low level players and it makes it much more annoying to co-op. The story is very on the nose and rehashes DS1, whilst failing to make as much sense as DS1, somehow. The DLCs have the best bosses(mostly) in the game, while also having the worst areas. Enemy spam is cranked up there, while enemy health and damage is also cranked up. Anyone who has done Eleum Loyce knows that the only good thing there is the Ivory King, second phase. The run up to Lud and Zallen is definitely the worst area in any souls game. Fall damage is way too high, likely to prevent you from dropping into the pit in Majula too early. The drop in the Ruin Sentinels fight should not kill you at half health.

All these issues highlight how DS2 is extremely flawed and lazily put together.

The good parts of DS2 do not make up for the bad parts enough to put it above the other 2 games.

PS: The good parts unique to DS2 are some boss designs, early game build diversity, magic, and power stance.