Personally, working with S3S or even just thicknessed material with rough edges would drive me bananas. I don't design or think in terms of 3/4" and 1/2", etc., for non-construction woodworking. The best thickness for material may very well be something entirely different to match the scale and proportion for a given project. I learned that a LONG time ago when I build Norm Abram's Shaker style wall clock. None of the material thickness requirements were common S3S thicknesses and it would have looked truly wonky using them. So for me, a J/P or separate tools is essential to the core of woodworking, but I acknowledge that it may not be as important for some folks. Having equivalent width capacity for flattening and thicknessing is also something that I've found to be important over the years, too, at least to me. Again, maybe not so much for some others.
The bottom line..."what do you want to do" has to help guide these machinery/tool choices.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...