The elven city isn't really far enough to appreciate the game, you had to keep going. No spoilers, but there's a place in Chapter 1 that you have to get to, and once you get there the module starts to make sense.
But the best fights and dungeons in the series are in Chapter 2, and what makes Prophet greater than either Aielund and ADwR (both of which are amazing) is the conclusion in Chapter 3. So you just have to keep going.
Baldecaran's strengths are plot and dungeons. Since I had done Cave of Songs first, I knew Baldecaran's dungeons are fantastic. Chapter 2 has the most perfect dungeon. You are right, that there isn't a great "hub" city (a la BG2, Aielund and ADwR) in Chapter 1; there is a hub city to explore in Chapter 2- but again, that isn't Baldecaran's strength, and the Prophet doesn't have many side quests (besides the Chapter 2 dungeon which is optional).
Almraiven has the most realistic representation of a city in a NWN module, but it doesn't have Prophet's plot.
I'm not sure why you would give up on a module before finishing it, so early too, especially one that is so highly regarded.