You mean Night of the Living Dead as the original, right? Personally, I prefer 'Night' to 'Dawn' although I realize that is an unpopular opinion. There is just something about it I find more horrifying; probably has to do with the claustraphobic setting. I also find the commentary on racism a little more interesting than the consumerist themes of 'Dawn'.

As far as Day of the Dead goes, I know a lot of people love that but to me it feels like the red headed stepchild of the trilogy. It just doesn't stack up to the previous films.

I'd agree with you there. I never felt the urge to revisit TS2. All of the TS films follow the same basic outline, but TS2 has the least going for it imo.

I would also say that I prefer Fellowship over The Two Towers. I found Fellowship to be superior visually, due in large part to all the shots Jackson lifts from Bakshi's work. I also like it better because it relies the least on CGI. I prefer old school choreography to large scale battle scenes that rely on CGI extras. And that whole story line with the 'ents'...my god.