I’m in a similar boat with you. I saw and enjoyed all the PT films when I was a kid but at the time I didn’t think either TPM or AOTC quite measured up to the OT (AOTC in particular was something of a disappointment to me at the time).
Huh. I liked the prequels more than the OT for years as a child. It wasn’t until I was 12 that I came to find them inferior. For a while I really disliked them, but now I’ve come back around and enjoy them again (except TPM, what a slog).