For me 4 complete meals the best. With 3 I can not get enough calories. (With a long-distance running training I need around 2000/day.)
I always eat at our dining table, never in front of tv, in bed, in the street, in car etc.
Something else: I prefer to keep the same schedule every day: eating at 7, 11, 3, 7 - never after 7.

(I was raised in a country where people did not snack, did not eat in movie theaters, did not have fast food restaurant etc.)

I agree, there is no general rule, everyone needs to find his/her own way in this.