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I agree with you that 3) reads/sounds best.
However, that doesn't negate the consistency rule. For each instance where there are two equally correct spellings (the meaning is unchanged by either), select the one that seems right to you, at least most of the time, and stick with it. In the case of "backward" vs. "backwards," for example, always use "backwards." On the other hand in the case of "toward" vs. "towards," always use "toward." Other than resolving the dilemma, I can think of at least one other rather mundane reason for maintaining consistency - to avoid nitpickers saying "oh there's a typo he didn't catch" when the "s" pops up when it wasn't there before.
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