Onebyone's comment that the border make the whole quilt that color - never thought about it, but in this case, it's so.
I definitely did not like the border. It seemed harsh with the rest of the quilt. I did like the green one a lot better and that made all the greens stand out in the top.
But I do like the gray one best.
As far as whether to take the narrower border off first and then add the wider one - I think the seam line - although very subtle, sort of defines the center of the quilt.