I love both of the trilogies. I don't mind the fact that they made it into 3 movies, even though 2 would have been enough in my opinion. If the movies came out before LotR, I think they would actually do better since people wouldn't have anything to compare them to. If LotR came out afterwards with the same quality it first came out, it would have been praised even more.
The Hobbit trilogy would never of happened without the LOTR trilogy doing so well, the hobbit was never meant to be like that the damn thing was a kids story he told his kids before bed ffs.
I don't think the Hobbit would have done as well without the context the LOTR trilogy gave to it. I think people cared because of the lore. But the Hobbit series never really captured me like LOTR did. Maybe because it was so novel in terms of the filmography.
I've watched and loved the LOTR trilogy. I've watched The Hobbit too. Well, if they will be making it a trilogy why not. It's a pretty intelligent decision because we all know that LOTR was a success. So if I'm the director I will really do the prequel. It means earning more a lot of bucks.