Honestly I consider all three games to be on the same level. I have just found that the values are different. Each one will excel in one area, and let down in another area. That said I think people also suffer from the nostalgia paradox. With each new iteration the formula seems less fresh then it did previously. Even though in each later iteration the game offers more of the same.
Strangely enough I personally think KotOR 2 was a far better game then the first KotOR, and both the later Mass Effect titles even though it was an unfinished game. The truth is that in the second game I thought the ability to enlighten or to corrupt the other characters is a concept that just hasn't been revisited. About the most you can seem to do in the Mass Effect series is get someone in your bed. The dialogue just isn't having the consequence. I mean it would have been nice to oh redeem Jack, break Mirandas Confidence, or get Liara to loosen up. Too often it just seems too narrow. So it seems to be getting less rewarding the further they go.
@darth
Despite what others have said you started the game with the right class. Once completed you unlock the bonus weapon options for later playthroughs, and having a good gun is far more important then having a good biotic ability with all the cooldown timer issues that entails. Plus the better gun is just going to be more functional overall. After all a biotic ability may nullify a single target, but the gun will clear out an entire gang. Basically your later characters will be far more versatile thanks to this.
