Raw is the raw output from the camera's ccd
the idea being that then you get to work on the output - almost as if it were film.
the best formats for you are
your editor's native format
or BMP - or TIFF (which is what mose graphics ppl use)
jpg is a good output format BUT it uses lossy compressionso every time you save a jpg you throw away a little of the detail.
The way most pros work is
save the original files .... make working copies
work on the copies until you are satisfied - save as tiff (to send to printer
if possible use this copy to make more changes
save as jpg - to publish on the web (this step is only done once ... fom the uncompressed tiff (or editor losyless format)
the bad news is .... you've just filled your 6Tb of disc space