Semi-empirical transition probabilities for magnetic dipole (M1) and electric quadrupole (E2) emission lines have been derived from parametric studies of experimental energy levels in Tm3+ (Tm IV), Yb4+ (Yb V), and Er3+ (Er IV), using Cowan codes. Results are compared with those existing from ab initio calculations or from more sophisticated semi-empirical calculations. Satisfactory agreements show that simple parametric calculations can provide good predictions on line intensities, provided that experimental levels are available, allowing reliable fits of energy parameters.