The robots are where it's at.
Amen! It's interesting that the robot-centric plotlines seemed to speak more powerfully on human nature than the emo-teenage stuff.
Ooh! I think the episode
"Self Made Man" is one of the most reviled among the series' fanbase, probably for lack of action. But it's my favorite, hands-down. In my personal copy, I did end up just deleting the John Connor segments from it though.
It did a great job of introducing the question of how machine and human experiences could be similar, and whether machines might have the ability to empathize with humans on some fundamental level. Intriguing stuff!