How far can I push EMDs?

I have been having some success with EMDs and I'm wondering how far they can be pushed these days.

My current sites are on 3 word EMDs and they were so easy to rank it was ridiculous. I ranked #2 for a buying keyword with my EMD before I even had a single post on my site, only the basic pages like about us, contact us blah blah blah.

Can this be done with 4 word EMDs as well? I have a small group of 4 word EMDs for buying keywords that I have my eye on but I wasn't sure how far you could push the benefits of an EMD.

I'd rather have a more manageable shorter all-encompassing brandeable domain than a 4 word EMD.

What is the EXACT search traffic like for these keywords? I'd imagine you are going for lower competition keywords. You probably would've ranked the site anyway regardless of EMD or not. Google did an update specifically to target IMers who were using EMDs to manipulate SERPs.

The EMD power isn't the same as it used to be. But it still has some weight in the SERP. Just don't expect to rank it with only one post or without building any back links. The only case that happened after the last EMD update was an EMD that I ranked for a very weak competition keyword with an on-page optimized content and tags and a 10 or so high quality backlinks

I would push them 4 words out.

The best way to find out is to test the waters. I've ranked 4 words emds all the time. You should have no problem doing the same. Only thing you have thread lightly on is the on-page seo.