Not at all, I tried to get into 1 and couldn't, it was too rough around the edges for me. 2 was much better, but I got distracted a few hours in. 3 felt like a completely different universe quality-wise.
I played through W1 (for the second time) in 2017, W2 in Jan (only got 1/3 of the way through originally), and W3 in March (first time). Each game approaches combat in very different ways in terms of mechanics but I felt that each contained the same core essence. I preferred the combat in W2 but I could absolutely understand why someone would prefer W1. I would say that W1 is a deeply flawed but still great game, W2 is simply a great game, and W3 is one of the best games ever.
Had trouble getting into Witcher as well, and it's weird because I normally love action RPG games. I might have overdosed on Fallout 3 and its expansions too much just beforehand, though. The combat in Witcher 1 in melee felt looser/slidey for lack of a technical term and I had gotten used to the precise control of your player actions in Fallout 3. YMMV, it could just be in my head.
