I prefer the first, it's a tighter, more unyielding experience without any of the cringe or pulled punches that T2 in its weakest moments has (Arnie riding on a motorcycle set to bad to the bone, John Conner's rad 90-ness).
That being said, I rewatched T2 recently and it brought them closer than I remembered. Kinda Hamilton is an absolute beast in it, the action scenes are obviously amazing, and narratively it goes to more interesting places than I gave it credit for.
I certainly wouldn't knock anyone for preferring T2, but when Arnie gets sent back in time and his massive frame looks over that LA nightscape you just know you're in for a trip, and it really doesn't let up from that (except for the lame love scene with Kyle Reese).