It's refreshing to hear someone say they love the original Dragon Ball more than Z. I feel exactly the same way. To be honest it's refreshing to hear anyone talk about the original Dragon Ball at all. It seems that a large percentage of fandom that got hooked on Z doesn't really care too much about the original which I find absolutely baffling. The world of DB is so big and epic that a few recap scenes in Z aren't enough for people to fully appreciate everything that happened in the original and has led up to the events of Z.
I know it's a lot to do with the fact that maybe people don't have as much nostalgia for the original since it wasn't the first one to air on TV but you'd think they'd still want to see the beginning of a franchise that they apparently love to fully appreciate the entire story.
I love the sense of adventure and playful humour in the original. Even some of the non-manga material is good in the anime adaptation. I have a SH figuarts Kid Goku action figure coming through the post that is going to get proudly displayed on top of the DB/DBZ collection shelf
I've read the Yu Yu Hakusho manga but strangely enough I still haven't gotten round to the anime. Need to amend that.