I played Mass Effect 3 with previous saves from 1 and 2. I am "normal" Mass Effect fan and I was born to be Shepard. So, I had to play 3. I red bad reviews and I tried to postpone it as long as possible. I liked it only because it was build on its ancestors. Kaidan is lobotomized, unnecessary drama with Krios, moronic Mordin death, buggy cover places and laggy controls...a looong, long list. The Rachni Queen and Jack are ok, Jack was nicely transformed. Still it's Mass Effect.
Not sure about the selected release, I bought a the Trilogy and replayed the first two.