I prefer the smaller the better but that's a personal preference.
I've only been involved with two small ones. My first was 15 homes so the association was only for the waterfront lot. Each home owner took care of their own personal property. We would rotate officials in charge every 2 years.
The one I'm in now is only 4 homes. No one is really in charge. We call it the "procrastination association". We are all over 60 and we talk about what we want to do every year but not much gets done unless I do it.
I'm actually the youngest and the newest member so I take upon myself to improve the waterfront area a little every year, which I don't mind at all since I use it the most.
It's very laid back, which I like.
The bigger the associations, the bigger the fees and more members means more people that have to try and get along.
The smaller associations are more hands on and require more individual work.