You know I'm finding it hard pressed to actually identify many older releases that outdo new ones...
On the Arcee front, I actually prefer TR Arcee over T30 or Earthrise. I was a sucker for Rebirth and headmasters as a kid, so I really like having a headmaster Arcee to go with the rest.
Obviously stuff like the original version of Cybertron Prime is far superior to the Siege one (I have no idea why I am keeping it).
I think CW/Legends Ultra Magnus is a superior toy to Kingdom/Siege Magnus molds, although I still am keeping Kingdom Magnus because he scales better with the new aesthetic and looks more like the movie. But CW Magnus is clearly a superior toy...
And finally I would say G1 Fortress Maximus is superior to TR Fort Max... The other bases, G1 has their charm, but I prefer to play with the new versions. They are so much more impressive. G1 Fort Max, though, such an awesome city mode with play features compared to what they did with TR Max