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btb and kreisler, what are your opinions on me learning this sonata? Would it be wise and beneficial for me to choose it over Op 27 2 and Op 78?

By the way, you may be correct when it comes to the spirit of the single movements of Op 26, but he has certainly abandoned the sonata form in this piece, the work starts with a slow movement, which is rather unconventional

I think the benefit that comes from a piece comes from how you approach it, not the piece itself. Pick whichever one you feel you can best devote your attention to, the one that you find most attractive and that isn't so technically demanding that you can't engage it on a musical and spiritual level as well.

It’s comforting to hear that Kreisler likes my pitch regarding the first movement of the Beethoven Sonata Opus 26 ... which revisits the old days of Haydn and Mozart ... but having just played those first measures to get a grip on the context ... I shot off to the kitchen for a cup of tea (so as to recover from the maudlin hangover) ... and then immediately returned to the keyboard to trundle over the wonder of the Moonlight Sonata Opus 27/2.

The opening of the Moonlight spun off a treat ... and the syncopated 2nd movement brought a smile ... it was slowgoing through the 3rd movement
(which needs time to build up the necessary tempo).

But back at the ranch ... nothing wrong in revisiting the Opus 26 ... but in dreaming back of my sprog years, the Moonlight was my first adventure into classical music, and therefore holds a special memory ... but each to their own poison.

But, would you believe it ... the first piece of music that I memorized was
“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” by Jerome Kern ...
and can still play it at the drop of a hat.

You chaps don't have to listen ... my dog likes my
rendition ... sometimes it's good to be deaf.

PS Beethoven is in an experimental mood in Opus 78 ...
which kicks off in Adagio cantabile tempo with an upward chordal ascent over a broad chordal bass ...
only to brisk up after 3 measures to Allegro ma non troppo.

The inconsequential rippling treble from m17 against a chordal bass with initially changing mid-chordal notes doesn’t make it a favourite for me.

My reference book says of Opus 78 in F-sharp major

“ This slight two-movement sonata hardly justifies the composer’s high regard. Certainly few will agree with him in rating it above the C-sharp minor sonata,
as we know he did. We may regard it as a minor product of Beethoven’s maturity. Many of my colleagues admire it more than I am able to, and it is by no means a stranger to concert audiences.
Indeed, it is easy enough to surrender oneself to the amiable melodic lines of the Allegro ma non troppo, or to the graceful caprice of the Allegro vivace.
I defer respectfully, therefore, to more enthusiastic judgments than my own.”

I’m off for a round of golf ... even though it’s raining.

IMHO the only "minor" or "slight" aspect of Opus 78 is that it is in two movements instead of three or four. Otherwise it certainly holds its own with the best of Beethoven's output for solo piano.

Op.54 is also in two movements, and Cooper doesn't see it as a "minor" sonata... He just says that it is unusual for Beethoven (although Haydn and other earlier composers had used two movements in their sonatas), and that it is in the middle of two mountains, the Waldstein and the Appassionata. Not as good as those sonatas of course, but not a minor sonata either.