I've been lurking for a while, but now that I've got my SGS III, I figured it's time to chime in.
I like the things in my life simple and clean on the surface with all the power at my fingertips (or thumb as the case may be).
1. You'll have to take my word that this is truly a screenshot of my home screen.
2. As an old WebOS fan, I love the Wave Launcher App and can access my frequently used apps with the wave of my thumb.
3. I use ADWLauncher EX to remove the notification bar from my home screen and the 1 Tap Quick Bar App allows me to customize the notification drawer and this is how it looks when I swipe down from the top of my home screen.