In my experience, the 3" 1911s can work every bit as well as a full size - if they were made and fitted correctly. I have close to 6,000 rounds all together through mine and I have had 3 malfunctions. That's about 99.95% reliability. I maintain all my firearms well, so your mileage may vary.
My three are the following:
Colt Defender ~1500 rounds
STI Shadow ~3000 rounds and it's my CCW
STI Escort ~ 1500 rounds
