The 17 WSM is definitely the King of the rimfires. For a rimfire, it's a very capable little cartridge. Unfortunately, regardless of what the label on the box says, it's all Winchester made ammo and their rimfire ammo is mediocre at best. Not to say CCI, which is who makes the vast majority of the 17 HMR ammo, is fantastic, but it's definitely better than the Winchester stuff.
I have a couple 17 HMR's and a Bmag. My Bmag has been massaged over a bit and shoots the best of the three. In fact, I hardly ever even shoot my two 17 HMR's and they've be relegated to back ups or loaner guns.
The K-Hornet, Ackley Hornet, and Hornady Hornet all have nearly the exact same case capacity, so if one has any measurable velocity advantage over the next, it'll be due to the owner pushing it harder. The brass for all three is just kinda ok, none of it is great. I don't know about the 22 Hornet brass, parent case to the K and Ackley Hornets, but you have to watch the neck thickness on the Hornady Hornet brass because it'll vary 2-3 thou from Lot to Lot. Bushing dies, IMO, are definitely worth the extra money when reloading for the 17 Hornet.
I have two CZ 527 17 Hornets and they're kinda like a 17 WSM on steroids but with a lot better ammo. They're a really fun little gun and when the conditions are right, it's amazing how far you can reach out with these little buggers on only 11.2 gr of powder and a 20 pill.
