I'm still a fan of entering the leg that you're already on..
As long as it's announced, it's safer for a pilot who's already on an extended base to enter that base... as opposed to angling over (where every body else is converging) to wedge into a downind that will just put him back where he already was (three, view blocking turns later)..
Well, that makes so much sense the FAA will never adopt it...

Why not hit the leg closest to your arrival heading? If you announce it and make sure you enter at TPA (unlike some Beech drivers I know of), it's probably safer, even on a base or downwind.
Sometimes I think the 45-degree thing is more appropriate as a training procedure than a practical real-world approach, although it requires some skull work, which is good for you.
I wonder where, when and why that form of entry was adopted?