I had two ATV3's for a number of years and really liked them. I preferred the old style thin aluminum remotes and am still using them now with my Apple TV HD's instead of the awkward Siri remotes. I also liked the simple, consistently dark ATV3 user interface.
Upgraded to the AppleTV HD (aka ATV4) because I wanted to use Sling, which is not supported on the ATV3. A number of other apps are no longer supported on the ATV3 also. Frankly, I think it would be a mistake to buy one of these today. Maybe, if it were free or almost free it would be worth a try. But you are likely to be frustrated as more and more services drop support.
Not sure if it has a global history feature, that is something I never wanted. If you are viewing your own iTunes content, I believe there's a "recently watched" playlist that is automatically created however. If cost is a factor, maybe consider a refurb AppleTV HD, it's $129 and includes the full one-year warranty.
BTW, the buttons on the remotes eventually go bad after years of use, I had to replace both of mine. So, if you end up purchasing a used ATV3, you might consider the cost of replacing the remote in your comparison with the ATV4.
