There are a few things that Heroes 5 (I only play the Tribes of the East version) does better than Heroes 2 & 3: Better skill system, more difficult AI (if you are into that). They also found a compromise between the use of heroes in combat for Heroes 3 and 4; namely that you CAN get an attack in on an enemy stack (doing a little damage) but
The Hill fort is an adventure map structure in Heroes of Might and Magic II, Heroes of Might and Magic III, Heroes of Might and Magic V and Might and Magic: Heroes VI. Its purpose is to upgrade creatures, usually at a reduced price. In Heroes II, the Hill Fort upgrades Orcs, Ogres, and Dwarfs. There is no cost. Orc - Orc Chief Ogre - Ogre Lord Dwarf - Battle Dwarf In Heroes III, the Hill FortGoing back to seven resources instead of three. MMH7 is most in line with the earlier games. I like both games for their music, stories and atmosphere. 7 feels more alive. 6 has intricate unit abilities, 7 is somewhat simpler but adds flanking. I'd say 6 is a bit of a weird guy, 7 the newest version of 5.
Age of Wonders doesn't compare to Heroes of might & magic 3, but it does compare pretty accurately to another game from 20 years ago called "Master of Magic." In many ways, AOW3 feels like a continuation of MoM the ways Heroes feels like a continuation of a game from 25 years ago called "Kings Bounty." (No relation to the games on SteamHXQ2.