As nostalgia goes, I'm not entirely convinced yet that Failcom will succeed in making a good strategy game, and seeing that I'd rather want something more akin to the more simple RTS variant in the older Dune/C&C games rather than something following the books, Barkhan might actually be better.

Not exactly fan of cartoon graphics, or even 10c (Funcoms new owner), but it's too early to say anything definitively. Time will tell, sooner or later, time will tell...

Would you rather have a game in the same vein as the older Dune 2/2000 or something more like a complex 4X game where it follows more after the books like DSW does?

Some gameplays:
Barkhan
DSW

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1965470/Barkhan/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1605220/Dune_Spice_Wars/

Looks a lot like a Dune-skinned Northgard, to be honest...

Looks like a remake of the classic DUNE RTS games.
So much for ever getting DUNE, DUNE 2 or EMperor OF Dune on Gog, thougyh.
Obviously the sucess for the recent DUNE movie (and at last we got a good screen version of DUNE) is why this game is being released.

Rumours are that the Herbert estate is not a fan of those games and will not grant a re-release.

Yo-ho-ho! The digital high seas are calling! ;)

Far more than rumours, unfortunately. There are interviews with Brian where he explicitly says he hates the games for being non-cannon and "taking liberties" with his father's vision.

While Barkhan looked like a cheap imitation, the youtuber gave some promising alternatives. F.ex. Global Conflagration and Crossfire: Legion are some I've wishlisted as they look really good so far. Even GOG confirmed he/they cared very little for them. In their words "if it's old it should stay buried".