Heh, my view is that Fusion is the worst in the series, the ship physics are awful, they had to stick the ships to the floor to allow the track design and the slowdown is a no-no.
2097 was the best in the series, this had me playing for weeks and weeks and I still pop it on now and again.
F-Zero GX is far better than Fusion IMO, as it is faster, better track design and far better physics. But it still doesn't come close to 2097.