I think the third game (are you playing the re-release with the fixed camera controls? https://metalgear.fandom.com/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid_3:_Subsistence) opens up after you’ve gotten past the first couple of areas. I’d rank the third just below the original. If some of the cutscenes were shorter, I’d put them on equal footing.

But if you’re not into it, I wouldn’t force it. There are too many great games to play something that’s not fun for you. I never finished the fourth game because of that, and I never even started the fifth even though I bought it on sale for $5.

Also, give the Gamecube remake of the original a shot (The Twin Snakes). It was essentially the original baked into the game engine and control scheme of the second game.