If you want a pet you can, in fact, hold and pet...I'm going to say no, get a Guinea Pig.
If you want a pet you can watch and admire and be amused by and, occasionally, take out and handle, then yup, they are great!
Note, you might get lucky and find a panther who loves being handled, but you cannot count on that, so in deciding on your pet, you need to assume the worst of all the animals you consider.
I also have guinea pigs and chameleons! Holy moly! The amount of time you need to spend daily for a guinea pig (supposing you want to give it the best quality of life possible) is more than the daily care of chameleons.
Chameleons, in my opinion, are more of a bragging-rights type of pet.
any kind of chameleon in general is one of the most amazing & intrrguing pets you can have!! as long as you know how to take care of them & dont want a pet that likes to be cuddled or even handled
"Pet" is such a broad term. Outside of bearded dragons, I don't think any reptile makes a great "pet," if the term is used to mean something to hold and feel affection towards. And even beardies just tolerate handling more than other herps. Blood tests have been taken from long term captive beardies of exceptionally calm demeanor, and the stress hormones spiked higher after handling.
I've got a house full of herps, and seldom take anything out except for cage maintenance, or to do needed work with the animal (medicate, weigh, breed, etc.). I'm convinced they like it best that way.
But as has been mentioned, if you are a fan of observing animals a panther chameleon is hard to beat for fascination factor! Do your homework on caging and care, though. They aren't the easiest reptile to start with.