Well Westwood's creativity and functionality still exists in the Red Alert franchise. The only thing EA game did was put better make-up on it. Red alert 3 is just as fun if not more fun than Red Alert 2.
I have Red Alert 3, but I have never enjoyed online play with any of C&C series. Once in a great while I play with the AI, but C&C online play is nothing like Starcraft and that's where I stand with RTS games.