I almost bought that the other day but I have so many p&c games already but now you're making me think I should have. I must ponder this.

Quest for Glory is one of the rare Adventure/RPG hybrids. 3 different classes (4 from 3 onwards), multiple solutions to most problems, combat that you can change the difficulty of (though I never noticed that big of a difference), interesting stories, and quite a few ways to die.
Take a look at Heroine's Quest for a more modern game in that style, or just grab the originals and yell at me whenever you get stuck.

Is the remake of #2 the one on the AGD Interactive page listed as 2.0?

I think so. Also a good place to start, though it does continue the hero's from the first game. Independent stories though.

You might consider playing the remake of QfG2 rather than the original game because it might be less frustrating. The importing and exporting of characters works just fine with it.

JMich just answered this but if I start with #2 without playing 1 I won't get confused will I?

Not really. People might comment on you being the hero of Spielburg from time to time but the story is about something totally different with different characters. The only guys you met in the first game is the dude who flew you from Spielburg to Shapeir and a couple of friends who run the inn where you're staying so they're not major players in the story.

Yes, I'm playing this :)