Hello there, fellow GOGers.

Couple of years ago I was checking some old reviews and stumbled upon Europa 1400, also known as The Guild. What intrigued me was that this game is so unique I couldn't even compare it to anything I knew. The idea of playing everyday life of a thief or a gravedigger(!) in Middle Ages really sparked my interest.

Now we have here The Guild 2 and other games with similar title that befuddle me.
So here are some questions for someone who played the games or simply know the answers from some source:

1. What are all this different Guild 2 games? How are they connected? Are they all stand-alone expansions of original Guild 2?

2. I like starting the series from the beginning, but sometimes you can safely skip previous games because the later iteration has everything the original had and it's much better (for example I don't need to try Anno 1602 or Anno 1503 after playing Anno 1701 first). Is this the case here? Can I skip the first Guild with clean conscience and start with some of the other games from the series?

3. This is not a question but if you'd like to add anything or share some info you think I should know before diving into series, please do so.

Thank you, mushroom_ff, for your answers.
I was looking for more detailed ones, as I'm still in the blur about these titles after your reply.
Both me and questions are still waiting. :)

I waited enough and as no one tried to get more into details, I've marked mushroom_ff's post as the solution.

(Finally) Done some of my own research and it turns out The Guild 2:Renaissance have everything as previous The Guild 2 games plus some more features so I'll start either with original The Guild or The Guild 2:Renaissance.
The rest can be ignored completely.