The way I think of these three:
Hot: she gives you a massive boner, makes you want to jump in bed, synonymous with sexy
Pretty: she is photogenic, mature and elegant, synonymous with beautiful
Cute: she is innocent and you want to talk about all your problems with her and cuddle with her under the night sky, synonymous with charming
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What's funny is that a few years ago I developed this exact same dichotomy free of direct outside influence. (Only I did "beautiful" instead of pretty.) All three for preference. Otherwise, though, cute is tops, as long as she's pretty enough and not averse to being hot.