Either a telescopic rod or a 3-4 piece rod is a viable option for small stream fishing and there are advantages and disadvantages to each. There are also lots of choices for each (and I am familiar with only a very few). For the sake of comparison, consider the Daiwa Wise Stream 53UL-3, a 5'3" 3 piece rod and the Daiwa Wise Stream 50TUL, a 5'0" telescopic rod. The price is the same ($215 if I had them in stock, which I don't). Both are rated for 2-6 lb line and 1.5-7gram lures (about 1/20 to 1/4 oz). Build quality is the same on both. Both have the same limited warranty (one year, one part, one time). The big difference on the warranty, though, is that it is easy to get a replacement part for the 3-piece rod. For the telescopic rod, you can replace the tip section yourself but if any other section breaks, the rod has to be sent back to Japan for repair. The telescopic rod clearly is more convenient to collapse and extend when you want to move from spot to spot on a small, brushy creek, though, and if you are careful you'll probably never break it. You do have to be more careful with the telescopic rod, particularly putting on and taking off the protective tip cap. (Personally, I think it would be safer to always just keep it rigged as shown in the photo below. The rod does not come with a hook keeper, but a Fuji EZ Keeper works well.)
Daiwa Wise Stream 50TUL
Of course, you COULD keep a 3 or 4-piece rod rigged as well, broken down with rubber bands to hold the pieces together, which might be more convenient than restringing the rod but wouldn't be nearly as convenient as collapsing a telescopic rod.
Daiwa Wise Stream 49L-3 (I don't have a photo of the 53UL-3 but it is very similar)
The Tenryu Rayz Integral RZI50UL-4 is a much higher quality rod, but it is also much more expensive.