I use 2 not including the drying towel and not including the glass. They usually wind up looking like this after I’m done. I do the entire side of the car with 2 sides of a towel so as you can imagine I’m not overly careful in regards to the wiping, it’s possible to get away with it with the proper technique.

Lsp, liberal amount of WW, good microfiber towels [Kirklands], good wiping technique [less fear = best results]

2 towels get dirty front & back. Glass gets squeegee + dedicated glass towels.