Hi there, and sorry to ask what I’m sure is a common question.
I am a guitar player who is looking into purchasing an intro shamisen to fiddle around with. Was initially going to get the ‘obvious’ tsugaru, but upon doing a bit more research, I think i prefer the more classical sound of the Jiuta, or even the more ‘banjo-esque’ sound of the nagauta.
I understand that they can overlap a bit (with obvious tonal/ percussive differences). I think that as much as I like to occasionally hear the very - percussive sounding tsugaru, that it probably my least favorite aspect of the instrument overall. I must prefer the higher pitches and more ‘hollow’ sound. I DO like ‘frantic’ notes, and fast trills, but not so much ‘frantic notes accompanied by constant slapping of the body’… if that makes sense?
IF my reasoning is correct, that would put me squarely looking at the Jiuta or Nagauta.
Am I correct in assuming the Jiuta is slightly more versatile ? For general exploration, would there be a reason to get a Nagauta over a Jiuta? If certain situations arise, would it be better to get an AWESOME Nagauta, versus an entry-level Jiuta? And will I REGRET NOT getting a tsugaru? 
I know these questions are all subjective and have a lot to do with the style of music desired, etc. Just looking for any direction based on the above criteria. Thank you again for letting me crash the party
-Chris
welcome . . . and a well put question I am sure someone else should also be able to offer an answer seems to me you will not regret not getting a tsugaru considering your preferences . . . especially since even in case you want to also include percussive hits sometime it is also possible on the others just advisable to use less force when doing so . . .
This is just my opinion, but if you’re going for versatility, Tsugaru might actually be the way to go. Unless you’re actively going for the Tsugaru sound, no one says you have to play percussively. You’re free to play as gently as you want. But if at some point you want to try playing with a little more power, a Tsugaru will let you do that.
Tsugarus are also the most likely to have azuma-sawaris installed, so you’ll be able to adjust the buzz to your liking.
As for potential downsides, Tsugarus are the biggest and thereby naturally the loudest. You can definitely play quietly, though, with a little technique. Again, versatility. You can play super loud if you want, but you can also play quietly.
Tsugarus also tend to be the most expensive because they’re the biggest. Buuuuut a lot of bang for the buck…?
Thank you so much for the responses. I’ll definitely think about what you said re: the Tsugarus.
Someone aware of my plight showed me a medium neck Minyou Shamisen that had a Sawaris that was for sale. This SEEMS to be right up the alley of my initial thought process… Or am I way off?
Thank you again for all your help!