I've put a few hours into 3 and jumped right back into 2. The warfare in 2 isn't exactly good, but it's dogshit in 3. I've heard that 3 has been getting better and better, while most mods for 2 have had their development finished. So I guess pirate 3 and see if you like it.

But EU5 looks really promising for a historical materialist simulator, surprisingly. It seems to be leaning away from the very arcadey elements of 4. They're adding in pops and much more in-depth society simulator stuff. Modern day/ industrial era mods could make it the best communism rp game