They are all good choices if you want to stay with VAG. The RS3 will have you at the Shell station quite often and you'll have boy racers up your backside constantly
They go and sound amazing though.
I'm the same age and went from an Edition 30 to an F30 330d, mainly due to the massively increased mileage, but it's proven to be a quick and fun car.
I would definitely get an M out of your system if you can afford it. Running costs aren't that bad and they're easy to work on if you like DIY. Much easier than my ED30 ever was!
Maybe look at leasing if you don't do huge miles? Pretty reasonable deals on 8000 mile plans.