After a year of mulling it over, I decided to take the plunge and purchase TI, SE, and SoTE.
We've played two 5 player games so far, and we're loving it. What a game! Everything we could possibly want in a space empire.....simulation? Epic.
I've seen much debate regarding the future of this iteration of TI, and personally I really hope that FFG release more expansions for TI3.