Can I Use My TV as a Third Display Without Disrupting My Dual Monitor Setup?

In my experience, it works pretty seamlessly! Once you set up the TV in the display settings, Windows tends to remember it. It'll only act as an active display if the TV is turned on, and it'll save your settings for resolution and refresh rate, so no hassle there. Just a heads up though, if you're using a long HDMI cable, make sure it can handle the resolution you want. I went with a fiber optic cable that needed converters, and while there might be slight input lag, it’s negligible for couch gaming.

Honestly, I just unplug the HDMI cable from the TV when I'm not using it. It works the same as your current method. Sure, you'll have to switch the TV's input if you use other devices, but it's a straightforward approach. You could also arrange the TV in your display settings so it’s not sandwiched between your monitors.

Another option is to get an HDMI switcher. If you have nothing plugged into the second slot, just pressing the button will tell your PC that the TV isn't connected, so it won’t affect your current monitors.

You can easily disable the TV when you're not using it. Just right-click on your desktop, go to Display Settings, and select the TV display. There's a drop-down option next to 'identify' where you can choose 'Disconnect this display.' This way, you won't mess up your setup, and Windows generally keeps track of the layout for you.

I set my primary monitor as a clone of my TV. This way, all my stuff is automatically there when I walk over and turn on the TV, which means I don’t need to fiddle with settings every time.