I actually thought the real intro was pretty engaging storywise, mainly because I wasn't sure how those "distraction" enagements were going to end. Yes, the end credits of WiH R1 showed the destroyers parked in various places, but I wasn't convinced that I should consider that canon. So I was watching the intro for the first time wondering if a Solaris was going to bite the dust - or, less likely I suppose, a GTVA destroyer. After all, Wih R1 ended on such a down note for the Wargods that I could imagine the BP team really taking a hammer to the UEF and knocking out a Solaris to impress upon us the scale of the strategic defeat. All three chapters have impressed upon us how integral the Solaris destroyers are to the UEF's defense efforts, so I think there's definitely some emotional engagement whenever one might come in harms way.
At the same time, it was very gratifying to see the alternate (and inferior) intro for a number of reasons. I found the real intro to be hard to follow, and I immediately rewatched it twice to glean everything I could from it. It's so fast-paced, and it took some amount of seconds for me to be sure that I was indeed watching battles going on during Delenda Est. You're not really given any clear indications as to whether Calder's and Netreba's battles were wins, losses, or stalemates, nor what sort of losses the different fleets incurred. This information might not be necessary for the narrative, and that's fine. But learning a bit more about what was actually happening in those battles in this cut intro was definitely interesting, and so I really enjoyed watching it.
I do agree, however, that the cut intro is inferior to the final product. It just falls a bit flat, cinematically. By comparison, actively contrasting all three major engagements as the real intro did was a powerful storytelling device.
One final thing: that very first shot in the real intro, with the fighter first coming into view... and that music... is a little awe inspiring.