I have a style called GLF, think you all may have heard of it...Go Like Fuck!
If he can't see....can't fight...can't stand...can't fight....can't hold...can't kill.
I don't care how you get there, in that order .. just do it, it has no style and no steroids can protect your vision. Try it and I think you will like it.

Oh boy, the routes you can take.
It really depends on you. Your mentality of how to you approach a fight can determine the style. Not to mention the area you fight in. Study them all. Jeet Kune Do is quality because it is not a stuyle but a system of adaptation for any other style. Krav Maga is intense and tested in modern combat scenarios. Philipino styles have excellent CQB weapons tactics (Look into Sayoc Kali, just for knives its top notch) The list goes on. Aikido will keep you from getting entangled in a fight and allow for better 3rd person defence. Brazilian Jujitsu is for the 75 percent of fights that go straigt to the ground, but you can only fight one person at a time on the ground. Muay Thai helps you take a beating and use every bone you have to inflict pain. Penjak Silat (indonesia) teaches you to use sippery ground and to attack even as falling. Asian mainland styles (nice grouping there huh) utilise Wushu to create nifty jumping and flexibility) Then theres American Boxing, punching someone fast and hard is a science well studied by Boxers. NHB is becomiing a style all to itself, but it does incorparate techical rules (gotta love to fish hook) and on and on...
The world of MA is a big juicy cow with a lot of fat and grisle that needs trimming of that steak of perfect combat. So try many. Also go and pick up "The Book of Five Rings, Myamoto Musashi; trans: Stephen Kaufman" a nice little book you could read in a day or two. Not deep philosophy but good killing stratigy.

I kind of go off the words of Bruce Lee( and later Frank Shamrock) let nothing be your way, I take this to mean learn as many differant styles as you can and from them use what works and throw away what dosent. every h2h system from boxing to Aikido has parts that work and parts that dont, it's up to you to find what works in your situation.

"true that" to all the guys that stressed finding the form that fits your natural tendencies and mission. for me Krava Maga (Israeli martial arts) works well. once the situation comes to it, an unrelenting offense is a pretty good defense. but this one is heavy on the "martial" and light on the "arts". be aware that there is a difference between the military/police version and the civi one.

sample a number of styles and find what feels right to you.

just my $.02

If you have any grounding in anatomy or you have played around enough sparring or brawling you "may" want to look into Xing Yi. It is a very simple (at first glance) chinese style based on short linear movement and body mechancis. It is not an easy one or two day class or seminar style. Upside is its very muscle memory oriented, is uses simple but effective targeting and is very "dirty" (read that as I have seen Brazilian ER docs watching a demonstration turn pale and ask to sit down.)
Downsides: Handful of people worldwide that are qualified to teach as well as it requires very serious commitment (you can´t half ass Xing yi techniques you´ll get hurt its an all or nothing; think escalation of force Xing Yis techniques come in somewhere between tasing someone and shooting them depending on how they fall. Its not terribly flashy and its got a whole lot of background. Again it must be stressed its got to be well taught and is not quick to learn. In America good instructors can be found in virgina, california, NY (although I have no idea where), and I believe florida.

For them that enjoy Aikido and jujitsu take a look at Ba Gua, rumored to be what Mas Oyama studied in China during the whole rape of Nanking period. Ba Gua (or Pa Kua) is basically jujitsu for wimps with a PHD in biomechnics and physics. Also ridiculously complicated to learn but highly effective. Both styles cover all of the fighting distances, terrains types, and greatly simplify the learning of angles. BUT again they require a good teacher and alot of thought and repetition. For you heavier guys (not saying heavy as in arnold physique either!!) out there Ba Gua is evil when correctly used as most of the movements are strictly waist generated and result in severe cranial injuries.

Anyone who has done the Dieter CQB will see the similarities immeadiatly. I also personally think that CQB is a bit more applicable as in, it actually offers a scale for escaltion.
Tons of videos of both styles on youtube. Word to the wise, the faster the person is doing the movement typically the shittier they are. (fast ba gua / xing yi = fucker that believes a chromed .45 in each hand is cool)

Done blathering

Regards

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this is my favorite subject. I have been involved in traditional and modern MA/Combatives since the age of 10. Ive seen what works and what doesnt. And it never comes down to the style...its the individual. An old teacher of mine onece told me "If a guy has been a carpenter for 25 yrs. dont fuck with him if he has a hammer in his hand". In other words if you do anything long enough, you will be effective. If you dont have 10+ yrs to invest, then go with something that uses gross muscle movement and a lot of aggression. If you are near Encinita Cali. look up James Williams, System of Strategy. If you anticipate wearing a lot of gear and body armor, then you need an Aiki based system. You dont want to try to throw a lot of punches and kicks with all that crap on. You will burn out in a few seconds with the stress factor up.

Just my .02 Im sure there is someone here that knows more about the PSD aspect of it than I do. But I have put togeather a teaching system that, so far, has had some success in abbreviated training schedules. Not a new system of combat, just a new approach to teaching.

I am new here, but I will throw in my two cents. As others have said, there is no magic bullet single invincible style. That said, I am an advocate of MMA. Yes it is a sport, but has very much become a style. The MMA fighter, much as with Jeet Kune Do, takes what works best for them from a variety of styles and disregards the rest. In my case, I train Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling, Judo, Muay Thai, and some boxing. This gives me tools in all ranges and phases of combat.

The key to this type of training for the LEO, Operator, etc. is to have at least some of the training 'reality based' (as opposed to sport based). Practice using the techniques to break up fights, ward off multiple attackers, or handcuff your opponent, etc. It all works together well.

Again, I am not claiming superiority over any other system, simply that I have seen this work well in Law Enforcement, Security, Bouncing, and more. The other advantage is that with the current popularity of the sport of MMA, quality training is not difficult to find. Just a thought.

Dave