Ranked in best to worst

Story

Halo 2
Halo 3: ODST
Halo 4
Halo: CE
Halo Wars
Halo Reach
Halo 3

Campaign (Gameplay)
Halo Reach
Halo 2
Halo 3/ ODST
Halo Wars
Halo 4
Halo CE

Multiplayer
Halo 5
Halo 4
Halo Reach
Halo Wars
Halo CE
Halo 3
Eating Dog Turds
Halo 2/ Anniversary

Customs/ Forge
Halo: Reach
Halo 2: Anniversary
Halo 4
Halo 3

Firefight/ SpOps modes
Halo 5 (If you count Warzone)
Halo 3: ODST
Halo 4
Halo: Reach

Best MP, CE/Reach
The rest, Reach/ODST

Never played 4

Campaign (story):
Halo 2
ODST
Reach
Halo CE
Halo 3

Campaign (gameplay):
Halo 3
ODST
Reach
Halo 2
Halo CE

Multiplayer:
Halo 3
Halo 2
Halo 4
Reach
Halo CE

Customs/forge:
Reach
Halo 3
Halo 4

Well here I go.

Best to worst overall for each game:

Halo 3
Halo CE
Halo 2
Halo 5 Beta
Halo 3: ODST
Halo Reach
Halo Wars
Halo 4


This does not mean I am saying I did not enjoy 4's story or did not like any of the games. I enjoyed them all I just did not enjoy some as much as others. And now I wait for people to cry about Halo 3.

campaign:
2>reach>1>3>5>4

MP:
3=2>1>Reach>4

How is CE's story god tier? The story isn't very good. Seriously.
Remove the nostalgia goggles, people.

And how is Halo 4's story any good? Because it isn't. I can barely remember a single thing about it.
Get out from under the desk please.

Campaign is basically all I care about.

ODST
H4
H2
Wars
H3/CE
Reach

Reserving judgement for Halo 5 until I've finished it.

SHIT idk how i forgot about ODST. easily the best campaign mode.

Best to worst

Halo 1
Halo 4
Halo 2
Halo Reach
Halo 3

I never even mentioned Halo 4. It has nothing to do with what I said.

I know, I only brought it up because I often see you defending Halo 4 a lot so I assumed it was your favorite.

CE objectively has a very weak, barebones, run of the mill story. It has an even weaker story than Halo 3 does.
Nostalgia is literally the only reason it gets listed so high up.

I have to agree to some extent. Halo CE's story was rather lackluster and cliché, even I'll admit that I probably listed it high up on Campaign/Story because of nostalgia. Nonetheless I still enjoyed the story, especially Truth and Reconciliation and 343 Guilty Spark in particular.

But to answer your question.
Halo 4 has a story that has more depth than a puddle.
Character development.
A consistent plot from start to finish.
Characters aren't shitty walking clichés

Eh, I suppose it had depth to some degree.
I assume you're mostly referring to Chief's development. While I agree seeing him talk more and actually open up is a good thing, I just didn't like that for some reason. Maybe I'm just so used to Chief being silent and just shooting while Cortana does most of the talking.
I agree the plot was consistent but I found it to be rather unmemorable and not making much sense at all.
I disagree completely, I thought literally every character in the campaign was a generic cliché.

Overall: CE > 2 > ODST > 3 = Reach = 4
Story [Writing]: 3's Terminals > 4 = ODST > 2 > CE > Reach > 3
Story [Atmospheric/presentation]: ODST = CE = Reach > 3 = 2 > 4
Campaign [Gameplay/level design]: CE > 2 > 3 = Reach > 4
Multiplayer: CE > 2 = 3 = Reach > 4
Also, my rankings haven't really been changed by this, but my positivity on CE and the H3 Terminals escalated even more after going through Marathon.

Story:
Halo 4
Halo 2
Halo: ODST
Halo Wars
Halo 3
Halo: Reach

Campaign (gameplay):
Halo 3
Halo 4
ODST
Halo 2
Reach
Wars
CE

Multiplayer:
Halo 3
Halo 4
Halo: CE
Reach
Wars
Halo 2

Forge/Customs:
Reach
Halo 3
Halo 2
Halo: CE

I was going to until you put H2 multiplayer in your "shit tier".

Fucking moron.

Muh BR
Muh redundant sandbox
Muh button combos
Muh super bouncing
Muh paper vehicles
Muh auto aim assist