Generally, I'd say more people prefer SML, but I have to agree with you on the part about controls. SML1's controls feel way more tight and responsive to me, and SML2's controls are extremely floaty. It's like SMB1 vs SMB3 imo. More people like SMB3 because it's bigger and looks nicer, but it also has floatier controls than the first game. SML2 is bigger, has more stages (32 vs 12), looks nicer, has more powerups, more secrets, more enemies, ect. It just comes down to personal preference and whether you prefer the simplicity of SML1.