Next up, what are good non-shooter exclusive PS3 games? I must admit that I'm leaning toward getting a PS3--I really want to play Spongebob Supersponge and Pac-Man World from the Playstation (1) era, and there aren't all of those battery packs and chargers to buy with the PS3. But still, as a big fan of Sports games, my list of games is only at NBA 2K11, NHL 11, MLB: The Show, and the Playstation games I just mentioned. (Yeah, I'm into platformers and sports games. Sue me.) I've seen Ratchet & Clank as well as an update of the Sly series (both are well-reviewed), and I was wondering how good those are?
3D Dot Game Heroes, Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland, Demon's Souls, Disgaea 3, inFamous, Grand Turismo 5, ModNation Racers, and Heavy Rain are exclusive to the PS3(save a few that you already mentioned) and are already out. There are more exclusive PS3 titles coming out, like Final Fantasy Versus XIII, HyperDimension Neptunia, inFamous 2, The Last Guardian, more Collection games, and many others that are shooters. You should try to check out the shooters on the console as well though. Uncharted 2 is a gorgeous game and it really would be a waste if you never played it, and Valkyria Chronicles is an interesting game as well, to say the least.
However, there is Eternal Sonata and Star Ocean: The Last Hope, that both were 360 exclusive but got ported over to the PS3 with more features, but I don't think that would count as exclusive.
My next question is about the hardware. Some reviews I have read for various games that are also on the 360 have lower rating, and the consistent theme seems to be bugs and freezing. Has anyone experienced this? Is this actually a serious potential problem for a potential PS3 owner like myself?
It depends entirely on the developer. Some games may be better on the PS3 for reasons, but there are also games that got mediocre ports like The Orange Box(which, to be honest, is a pretty mediocre port all by itself, but is even worse on the PS3) to the PS3. The problem used to mainly be in the beginning when PS3 had no games and just lived off of the 360 library by stealing exclusives, but I don't think there's any major porting problems anymore.
Finally, how is Playstation network? I've never been much of an online gamer (I've never played online once), but I haven't ruled it out and I'm wondering if it's a good service. I'm not supercompetitive--lack of a headset to trash-talk and things like that don't bug me. All of my friends have 360's anyway. Is the online environment good for playing some solid non-computer opponents?
PSN is a great service, just like XBL. However, it is free(although $60 isn't much, it's still annoying having to have the only console that makes you pay to play online, even if you don't use it that often) and has an optional $50 PS+ that gives free games(they're connected to your PS+ though, so you don't get to keep them if your service runs out), discounts, and other perks to their players. I think every PS+ subscriber got beta access to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood a while ago. It is a bit emptier than XBL because a headphone isn't bundled with the console, but it's up to you to think of that as a good or bad side effect.
Personally, I'd choose the PS3 only because I think the game library on PSN is superior(many PS1 classics are out and are still coming out), but don't treat everything I say seriously, I'm just a PS3 fanboy.