'Pilot' is my favorite (I'm UK-based). Of the other two UK mags, 'Flyer' is good, sometimes very good, but a bit of a 'light read' for my taste. 'Today's Pilot' is improving is still number 3.
The US mag 'Flying' is good if you're into turbocharged IFR transport -type flying. It's not for a grass roots aviator like me.
'Pilot' has some really good stuff (like the 'Lightning' article this month, and Alan Cassidy on power-on spin recovery). I can't agree that it lacks 'from the heart' writing. IMHO one of its main strengths is that is does indeed have lots of such writing.
SSD