Exactly, man without "enough" tools is not yet a man, I'm over 60 and I still end up getting into trouble when I go into tool shops, for the record, last Saturday I bought one of these "a bit big" Laser Tools pipe pliers - because they sound handy and a pair of Knipex flat nose biggish pliers.
To the OP, a tip for the next time you want to do this job, spray the exposed ends of these three bolts with proper release oil (not WD-40) a few times before trying to remove them - AND - spray the new bolts with underseal that contains an anti-rust agent to save the next person this grief.
Also, when I need to remove something that is fixed with three bolts that have been exposed to salt and road curd, I start by proving that I can remove all the bolts BEFORE stripping down the rest of the assembly, first bolt out okay - good - retighten, second bolt not okay - stop and solve that issue before moving on - then now you know what is needed to possibly get the third bolt out - typically I'd expect that its the inside bolt that gets least salt and road curd - that means it is the outer two that cause problems and with the correct assortment of vice grips you should be able to get them out and back in tight before you start on working on getting the bottom end of the strut out. All that sounds a bit of over kill maybe, but it means that you can still quickly have the car back in use if need be.
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