If you take it one step further by using Ctrl+Tab then either the 1, 2 or 3 keys for vert, edge, or face you don't have to move your mouse when you make your selection.

Thanks for this tip I did not know that one either 

I think it should be mentioned that, as far as I know, this trick only works if you manually assign each mesh element mode to a hotkey first.  You'd have to CTRL+TAB to bring up the mesh mentu, then assign vertex to hotkey 1, edges to 2, and faces 3 from the menu, the same way you assign any other hotkeys.  Then you must save the preferences, or else the changes will reset when you end the modeling session.

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Tools :  3dsmax 2015, Daz Studio 4.6, PoserPro 2012, Blender v2.74

System: Pentium QuadCore i7, under Win 8, GeForce GTX 780 / 2GB GPU.