This was a great question and I learned something new.

I do, however have a question of my own. I was under the impression that due to the internal timekeeping processes that SQL Server relies upon, it is unwise to rely on precise timings in the range 0-3ms (0-3000ns)? In other words, when comparing dates or using dates as boundaries, we should bear in mind that the range .997 to 1 is unreliable, due to these timing issues?

There's a Stack Overflow post about this rounding error here -> http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3584850/sql-server-datetime-parameter-rounding-warning and some other references available.

With this knowledge in mind, the question specifies '... which, if any, will work reliably?' My answer would be none - since you are measuring in 1/10ths of a ms (100ns) intervals and the rounding error may invalidate any calculations.

Of course, if this argument doesn't apply to DATETIME2 (rather than DATETIME) then I offer you a hearty apology and withdraw my comments.

Still a great QotD. Thank you.