I have all 3. The Hippophae I have are from One Green World and they are suppose to fruit on 3 year old wood. The male is 4yrs and still no flowers, I had to replace my females last year due to death. So cant comment on fruit (but an East German friend loves them. The Honeyberry have done fairly well for me, I really like the fruit and have 3 different varieties and will probably get a few more. The are somewhat slow growing for me, and I killed a couple by fertalizing, I sprinkled them with a little time release and they died starting right after the next rain. have replaced and dont do anything for them and they grow and fruit well. The Aronia I have is the cultivar Viking, they produde very well (they are a native), my niece and I are the only ones that like the raw fruit, but they make some of the best jelly and sauce ever. We did use them to dye some llama wool too. I plan to get a couple of the red berried type this fall.
Depending on what you want them for, fruit vs ornametal, well, lets just say the Buckthorn isnt really much to look at, the Aronia are nice open shrubs with good fall color, and the Honeyberry is a nice shrub, not much to look at as far as flowers or berries go, flowers small and early and the berries are hidden by the foliage and also ripen very early, but taste good. The Honeyberry bush is a nice green shrub, but mine are now in full sun in central Michigan and defoliate mid summer.

I know this was kind of a ramble, but the older I get, the more I do.

scot