Hiya!
I'm a 1e/HM4 guy myself. We never really got into 2e. We tried it for about 2 years or so, but went back to 1e and BECMI (or other RPG's like Powers & Perils, MSHAS [Marvel..the "FASERIP" one], Star Frontiers or Gamma World 3rd, etc).
I've found that if you want to just put in "a bit of effort, but don't have time to REALLY do much" (e.g., less than a couple hours, tops, per week), then you're better off with a more simplistic game, mechanics wise. To this end, 5e is EASILY the 'best' version of D&D. It's the game for the guy who's been "more or less" keeping up with RPG's since high school and has somehow managed to convince a couple of 'normies' from work or the gym to come on over every other Saturday for BBQ, Beer and D&D. Don't expect much in the way of in-depth and deeply-caring for, PC's and whatnot. To these folks RPG's/Card Games/Boardgames are just "fun pass times when you have nothing else to do".
But, if you want to put effort into hand crafting a believable fantasy world, with all the bells and whistles that entails (re: Middle Earth, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Narnia, etc), then I think 1e, 2e and yes, even 3e (I can't believe I just said that!...), are better systems.
If/when 'you' go back to give 2e a shot...play it
like 2e AD&D! If you keep your 5e "attitude and expectations of play", but use the 2e AD&D system...I suspect disappointment all around. Everyone going into the game as to be into all of the 2e system; that means looking at Level Limits as a GOOD THING, taking Class/Race Restrictions and thinking of a cool reason for WHY they are there, and for [insert favoured deity here] sake understand that going from 1st to 20th level IS NOT A LINEAR PATH! Oh, and one more important thing to reiterate...in 2e, "I'll try and sneak past the guards!" shouldn't be responded to with "What's your Move Silently?"...it should be responded to with "Ok, how are you planning to do that?". That is the single BIGGEST difference for enjoyment of a pre-3e system; the PLAYER input as a larger determining factor for success than the PC's abilities/skills.
Ok. I'll slink off back to my secret hide out now.
^_^
Paul L. Ming