M2TW is superior to MTW VI in all of the major aspects of the game, in terms of religion, diplomacy, trade, missions, unit rosters, in terms of how it looks it's miles ahead of MTW VI obviously, graphics aren't everything but they add so much to this kind of game as realism plays a big part.

At the same time I think they are to different to compare to much, one is 2 generations further on than the other, how can such games be compared when such leaps have been taken in the years between their releases?

VI is a great game and M2TW doesnt quite have that feeling/mood MTW VI has, but is streets ahead of the catastophe that was RTW. I always feel mods can improve a game, make it more realistic to appeal to those of us who want a specialised version of the game instead of the commercial version with appeals to everyone.

I believe mods can build on an original and make it a greater more refined more realistic experience, that should be the role of mods, they make games better but shouldnt have to make games playable like in the case of RTW. RTW vanilla is IMO totally unplayable, only with the Realism mod could I enjoy it.

M2TW is a success, because I am very happy playing it as it is, just as I did with VI, XL made it better as did BKB's super mod, but MTW VI wasnt crying out for a mod and neither is M2TW IMO.

The AI in TW games has never been particularly good AFAIK, in VI the AI trained way to many skirmisher units and used to attack my fully balanced army with little more than an army of ballistas and trebuchets. It's better in M2TW, but then M2TW stretches the AI far more than in VI so were there are gaps in the AI's capabilities they are bound to stand out far more. VI did a great job most of the time in papering over the cracks, the simplicity of the campaign map is the best example I think.

Is MTW VI better than M2TW as a game? Not by a long shot, but as an experience VI has a special significance that only Final Fantasy VII equals to me in terms of games. In pure terms though M2TW is massively superior.