The Belgariad was the better, but the Mallorean was more lightly written I thought.
Hands down, one of the funiest scenes was in Magician's Gambit, after Silk & Brill fight. "Brill? Again? What was he doing?" "Trying to fly, last time I saw him…does bouncing count?"
Silk's a great character! Polgara's next on the list.

I would suggest reading the Rivan Codex, where he explains some of the background & the changes made. For example–the Drasnians were supposed to be super-honest.