I prefer Ocarina of Time over Majora's Mask. It's difficult to compare these games because although they utilize nearly the same engine, the two focus on differing ends of the Action-Adventure genre. OoT emphasizes progression through dungeons and while sidequests are more numerous than those of its predecessors they are not present in abundance. MM, on the other hand, shines new light on these secondary objectives. The people you help will repay the kindness as Termina nears its end.
Another factor I have to take into account in judging these games, however, is that I played OoT first and that said game released before MM. If history had unfolded the other way around, OoT would have been seen as a regression of the series. As it is, the game revolutionized analog control over sprawling worlds, further enhanced by lock-on and great transportation systems including Epona and ocarina warp songs. MM isn't the objectively worse game, it's merely different and in my case that deviation is not something I embrace.
Another factor I have to take into account in judging these games, however, is that I played OoT first and that said game released before MM. If history had unfolded the other way around, OoT would have been seen as a regression of the series. As it is, the game revolutionized analog control over sprawling worlds, further enhanced by lock-on and great transportation systems including Epona and ocarina warp songs. MM isn't the objectively worse game, it's merely different and in my case that deviation is not something I embrace.