The neighbors won't start smelling it until you switch the lights to make it flower. If you hook an extraction fan to the closet and run the exhaust through a carbon filter, it all but erases the smell. These filters will cost you no less than $60 for a small one at a hydro shop, but you can make one for less than $30.
As far as lights go, try to get a light that will give you more than 25 watts per square foot, that will ensure the plants are getting enough light to make it worth your while.
Now to the sticky part- soil vs hydro. I grow in soil outside and hydro inside, so I am familiar with both- in the end, regardless of the medium used the plants will produce some amazing bud as long as they are looked after. Some folks have a knack for growing soil and knowing how much of what nutes to use and so forth. For me, I am mostly in the dark on it. I find hydro easier because I know exactly what nutes the plants are taking up and how much of them there are, so I can make adjustments, see how the plants respond and go from there; I can also start over from square one if I need to. There are numerous different ways to feed a hydro plant (aeroponics, wick, ebb and flow, etc) but you can also hand water them as well, and if you have only 3 plants, that would be the most economical way to do it.
All in all, there is so much information on the topics above it can make your head spin, but what it boils down to is that there is no one "right" way to grow it; it is a weed that has few natural predators and this plant grows naturally all the way from the highest mountain ranges to the hottest deserts to the coldest tundra. Easiest way to pick a method is to go with whatever is easiest for you, then go from there.
RIU breaks it down as easy as possible for us, so the best place to start would be here ->
https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/
And I can't stress enough how much the DIY section will save you money, and customize a setup that works for you.
https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/
Of course there is information buried in there that will help you, but can be almost impossible to find, so if you across something you need to know but can't find, throw up a thread like you did here and you will get some pretty good (and sometimes not so good) input. Till next time, good luck and happy growing.