I guess it's true; nobody argues like family. When I saw the header for this thread I figured it would be a short one... :eyeroll:
I like all kindsa fins. Tubes, Rings, 3-fin to 9-fin (2 stage 6-fin to 3-fin), symmetrical, asymmetrical (VF-261), and even (gasp) FINLESS! (X-24/HL-20/X-RV style Cone w/out fins - flies fine).
While I have to agree that a 4-Finned Astron Sprint would look "off", so would a 3-finned Big Bertha.
3-finned is better for altitude performance as it has 25% less fin-induced drag than a 4-finned rocket. Thankfully, some rockets are built just to look cool.
One of my all-time faves is the
Starblazer X-20, it has 8 fins (three with end-plates) and a cockpit. Looks pretty slick, flies very nicely, performance is resoundingly "eh".
My scratch designs (many are only simmed after the first flight - I still sit down and do all the math on paper sometimes), have pretty much every number of fins - I have no real fin bias.
To quote one of the Peace Officers in Futurama: "It don't matter, Baby. They're ALL beautiful."