I've been comparing BG2 and BG3 almost solely on their stories but that's because it's the most interesting part to me. That said the differences between a 6 and 4 man squad can certainly change the tenor of combat encounters but I think this has more to do with the relative power curves between 2nd and 5th edition than anything
I would put Kingmaker much closer to BG:1 than BG:2 and really just the first Act of Baldur's Gate.
I agree with you the story is important but it doesn't really help in comparing the games I mean in that sense these are totally different games even if it references the original BG stories later as well as maybe its impact on the world is more like a backdrop to this story but still makes this its own story
Hmm I will have to disagree on Kingmaker I've played BG:1 Enhanced all the way through and it's got a different play style maybe the early levels feel more like BG1 but once your hitting 10+ lvs more like BG2 so could say both really.
