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F first and L third gives 53 words, and a third of them put I in the box between.
I leads at about thirty four percent, E at nineteen, O at seventeen and A at fifteen. All four vowels carry real weight.
What tips the balance is that the I branch holds a tight family, so landing that one vowel narrows things faster than the numbers alone suggest.
FILES, FILMS, FILED and FILLS all share their first three letters. FALSE and FALLS cover the A branch, while FOLKS and FOLDS take the O.
FILLS, FALLS and FULLY all push a second L into the fourth box. That is enough of the group to make the doubling worth testing early rather than saving for last.
FILES and FILED differ in one box, as do FOLKS and FOLDS. Once the vowel is settled the last two letters are usually all that is left.
That pairing runs through most of the group, so reaching the vowel early matters more here than picking a clever word to start with.
No. FLAME puts L in the second box and A in the third. The FL blend is a different shape from F first and L third.
FILMS. It covers the busiest branch and its M and S test letters the other FIL words do not, so a partial hit still narrows the family.
No. FUELS puts U in the second box and E in the third, with the L fourth. The L arrives one box too late.