The Quest for "Anyway"

Everyday, I use the word "anyway" in English and I really wish I knew how to say it in Chinese. I've had considerable trouble tracking down a Chinese word/phrase that can be used the same way we use "anyway/anyhow" in English.The ways we use "anyway" as a kind of sentence starter in English are:

1. To end a topic and move on to a new one. For example, at the end of a story about the milk truck we might say, "...the milk truck finally rolled away. Anyway, do you teach tomorrow?" (This "anyway" is often accompanied by a sigh.)
2. To return to a previous topic after a digression. For example, if I'm talking about the milk truck and suddenly my story wanders off to my new computer, to get back to the milk truck story I would say, "...my new computer. Anyway, the milk truck driver had this red hat..." (This is really along the same vein as number one in this list.)
3. To mean, "regardless." For example, if I'm not sure whether I'll be free to play ping pong tonight, I could explain the different things in my schedule that might interfere. Then I would say, "Anyway, I'll call you when I know more."

There may be even more uses of "anyway" in English but those are the three that come to mind.I've asked a number of informants how to say "anyway" in Chinese and it seems that you have to choose the function from the list above, and use a different word/phrase depending on the situation.For example, for function 1 above, they might say:

• suàn le ba 算了吧 = forget it (let's move on)
• bù shuō tā le 不说他了 = (I'll) not talk about it (anymore)

For function 2 (and maybe 1 also) they might just say:

• hǎo (le) 好(了) = good / ok

For function 3, they might say:

• fǎnzhèng 反正 = anyway / anyhow / in any case
• bùguǎn zěnme yàng 不管怎么样 = regardless of what happens / of what is

Does anyone have any insight into the problem of saying "anyway" in Chinese?