I bought a mini 4 refurb from dji and added 2 years insurance for c.£745 the mini 4 is a great drone and will work with a head set which are expensive but might help in a rocking boat with crashing waves. Still saving for the headset. The mini 5 doesn’t work with a headset though.
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If you can stretch to it go for the 5. Everything else is a compromise. Good luck with it. Let us know how you get on. https://www.leicesterdrones.com/?product=dji-mini-5-pro-fly-more-combo-rc2-with-built-in-screen
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What area are you in. The neo is a cheap drone so a lot of people have that along side their other drones so the drones in question a good few people will have them both so if a meet is near you then there is a chance to see them both in action or somonevwill have one or the other.
My view. The neo is cheap and can get in small spaces but its fussy on weather. If there is a wind it can struggle a little. The gimble will only go up and down so the camera can be a little jumpy as it moves around. We have one and if you flying indoors in light then they are good. Take them outside in good weather (ignoring the jumpy camera they are good)
Mini 3 pro. The gimble moves in all directions and if you hover it can look like a still photo unless something moves on the ground. In general, I can not comment on a 4 or 5 as had no experience. They mini series are pretty good in wind as long as you are not @clinkadink who will take off in the odd hurricane searching for flying trees and speed records, we have flown in moderate wind and not felt the concern to land. The neo i have less faith in wind and only took mine up recently to help another member decide if it was ok to go up as they were debating it with the weather. I was up for a short while but felt safer to get it out the sky and for a moment it was difficult to get it back
D J I come out with new drones and as soon as they do there will be members who will want to upgrade and are not as daft as me keeping every drone so look in the for sale section, you may get a bargain.
3 vs 4 vs 5. This i can not comment. The one thing i can comment on is price as there will be a big difference.
Cost. Neo
Stability. Mini series
Dont forget to consider a flymore kit. You need multiple batteries to keep you in the sky.
If new, consider care refresh in case you meet a tree that jumps out or it flies off (@clinkadink ). DJI will send out a limited amount of refurb if your criterior surfices them.
You have chosen a good selection. The mini 5 does weigh in over the 250g but thats anither thread to look at.
Hope you are happy with your choice.
Safe and happy flying.
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I’ve been in the market recently and settled for a mini 4 pro on the Very deal. It is a stunning piece of kit.
Prior to this I’d bought a Potensic Atom 2, getting the Fly More package for £242 on a deal. This was a phenomenal price for what could’ve been a really good drone, but mine was faulty and I did not have a good experience with the seller or Potensic Customer Support, so I couldn’t recommend. Eventually got it sent back and refunded.
I considered the Neo but there were too many caveats with image and wind stability and concerns about flying it over water. I’d view it as more of a social media drone which can occasionally do more, depending on terrain and weather.
I got a firm rebuttal from my other half about the Mini 5 Pro, even with the Very discount. However, as you say, it isn’t that much more than the 4, and if you factor in the cost of a set of ND filters for the 4 (which, I think, come free in the 5’s package) they are even closer in price. If budget is no issue, go for the 5 but I can assure you that the 4 is utterly fantastic too.
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Great summary! 
As the objective seems to be inspection and search & rescue, wouldn’t it be best to go for a “typical” drone configuration, rather than something oddball like the Neo?
I’ve no experience of the Neo (do drones have different flight characteristics?), but low (zero?) wind resistance and being so different from the typical S&R drone config in OP’s future might not make it the best starting drone?
RE: “…mini series are pretty good in wind as long as you are not @clinkadink who will take off in the odd hurricane searching for flying trees and speed records…”
Not long after I got my Classic, my boy drove us to Burnham beach as a treat and an opportunity to try the drone. When we got there, what had been a slightly windy day, became a full-on gale. The sand was being blown sideways along the beach, and we put on our jackets because we were being sandblasted - no exaggeration, it was actually painful!
You know where this is going… as the whole point of the trip was to fly the drone, I succumbed to my keenness to see the drone fly and peer pressure, and took off (shielding the drone with my body during take off). I took it to 50ft and was very impressed with how the Classic was dealing with the wind - super stable video! I flew about for a while without any drama, then descended to land. About 10ft off the ground, I realised that I couldn’t fly into the wind (at all!!) and the drone was rapidly being taken downwind. I already turned the drone around to put its back to the wind (to save the camera and drone from being sandblasted too badly), and brought the drone down sharpish. It landed still going downwind despite full throttle into the wind. I took the hint, bought a wind meter, and never flew if the computer said “no”.
Every day is a school day! LOL
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If your considering inspection and serious search n rescue stuff then by definition you’ll have to expect to fly in adverse conditions.. wind, rain etc.
None of the consumer level DJI drones are ideal for that duty. Whilst some can handle a fair amount of wind they don’t really like the wet. Especially for multiple or prolonged flights.
For this duty you’ll have to refine your googling to include ‘enterprise drones’ and ‘IP ratings’ then go mortgage something to pay for it 
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No I just want to get my own drone to use as a hobby and get some experience. For work and search and rescue they have a Matrice 4T and Matrice 350 RTK. I can only fly these once I have done GVC. I was pretty much decided on the mini pro 5 , but I have just seen someone flying a much cheaper mini 4k, I know it’s not got all the bells and whistles but it might do for now as a starter drone? I dunno 
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4k would do if you just need to get the experience and skills needed for a GVC practicle test. It’s a lower investment for sure and there are many member that still enjoy them.
Although most GVC companies like to see your ability to control a drone in atti mode. If you turn up with a drone that doesnt support atti then they should be ok with that from what i’ve gathered.
For SnR work your companies 4t isnt ideal imo. Do they have something thermal to dangle from their 350?
Yes I believe they have thermal, spotlight and speaks that they can attach. From what I can gather drones on the search and rescue world are changing all the time at the moment, but I won’t know much more until I get involved more. Thanks for all your advice and help by the way. 
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For filming/photos, I’d advise the best Mini flymore kit you can afford. My own drone is a Mini 4K, good up to 23mph wind and I’ve flown it in a little over that. It tells you when the wind is too much for it and you can usually complete the mission by dropping 100’ or so. As a flying tripod, it is superb, and I am in awe of the ability of the gimbal to hold a steady image even when I can see that the drone is being knocked about wuite badly. I am also in awe of the drone’s ability to hold station by gps in some quite bad conditions.
Spend more money and you’ll get more features, all the way up to the 5 with the biggest sensor (= best low-light performance), full obstacle avoidance, & LIDAR. Basically, yer pays yer money an’ yer takes yer choice.
Neo is a great little whoop/vlogger for the money, but a bit restricted for more serious outdoor & filming tasks. Flip seems to be, again, a bit whoop/FPV orientated, perhaps not the best value video drone, but very much worth considering for the integral propguards if you are going to be doing a lot of flying in restricted spaces. Of course you can fit propguards to the Minis, but it takes them over 250g…
If you want FPV buy an Avata, & a Hoverdrone X1 to keep in your pocket
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