[Vwing]

JYAMG, I think what really bothers you about T2 (and would bother you about T3) is that the story just trivializes the movie before it. In Terminator it's a fight against Arnold to save the future of humanity. In T2, that fight seems not to matter as they send a better guy back anyway, and now it's a fight to avoid Judgement Day. T3 trivializes T2, because it shows that Judgement Day is unavoidable, even though Connor does try to fight against it, as well as save himself.

Here's what I basically do when I watch the Terminator movies. T1 and T2 go together. They do. There are plot holes but they are together, and we can say that the story ends at T2. Then you start a new series with Rise of the Machines, which i would say is a "What if" series showing what happens if Judgement Day is not avoided, as T4 will show the war itself. Much like I separate the OT from the PT.

[Just your average movie goer]

Yeah, I think that is probably where most of the disatisfaction comes from. I think if I am to watch Terminator 2 again, I must watch it when I have not watched the original Terminator any time recently. That way, I can just watch the movie and enjoy its own merits.