Did you guys watch at a theatre or home? It is very much a theatre movie tbh - the whole vibe and cinematography lends itself to some quick action and dark scenes, perfect for theatre viewing. I'm a huge OG Alien fan, and managed to see Romulus 3 times in a theatre since we finally got an Alien movie after decades!
Some scenes are great - specially anything involving the chestbusters, and the last "Alien", but the Xenomorphs were unfortunately "just another enemy" in the movie - never got lifted to the status they are capable of, and they are shown to be a bit dumb IMO, which is absolutely lazy writing. I do agree that the movie is hotchpotch of previous concepts, but miles ahead of Alien 3 and 4, which were horrendous.
Nothing comes close to OG Alien - perfect mix of claustrophobia, horror and novelty in an almost perfect setting.
My preference is Alien > Aliens >>> Covenant > Romulus > Prometheus (only because how dumb some scientists acted)
If you're a fan of Alien franchise, I'll highly highly recommend reading Alien Omnibus comics and recent run by Marvel. They are excellent - specially short stories in Omnibuses.