A dive into rudiments

Well, I'll start by saying that after four years without drumming, I decided to buy a kit again and get back at it. I seem to have not skipped a beat, which I'm very pleased about. I played to one of my old favorites from back when I had a kit (Vicarious by Tool) and it was like riding a bike.

However, I'm older now and I'm taking this a little more seriously, especially since this kit was not paid for by my parents, which means instead of jumping on the drum set and slamming away, I'm spending a lot more time on the drum pad. The amount of control and finesse I've gained even over just a month is phenomenal. That brings me to a few questions:

What are you favorite rudiments and why?

Do you feel like practicing some rudiments over others will change your style?

If you could only practice 3 rudiments, what would you practice?

Any advice on applying rudiments to the drum set?

Drum on, friends.