I agree that Civ II was probably the best of the series, but I also agree that it wasn't the best grand strategy game ever (still Master of Orion II!). I never really liked combat in the Civ games either.

My favorite part of Civ II though, was the expansions. Fantastic Worlds and Conflicts in Civilization were both excellent. Some of the best custom maps I've seen.

If MoO2 had a problem, it was the lack of a map editor.