Try One PST At A Time
Just a shot in the dark but why not close the other two PSTs and try opening the one that hangs on it's own?
I seem to recall that Microsoft also offers a PST file repair tool. I'd search for that and see if you can't run it on the misbehaving PST.
I'd also follow the advice of the earlier poster and move up to 2003 and convert your PSTs.