They all use the same engine and pretty much control the same. Bioshock probably felt clunky because you've played faster shooters like Doom since playing Bioshock Infinite those years ago.
I remember Infinite seeming more difficult, and I'm pretty sure I played all three games on Hard. It could be that it just seemed that way because I didn't enjoy the combat as much in that game.
Could be that I played other smoother shooters, but then how do I explain the fact that I initially picked up Bioshock 1, dropped it halfway through because of the combat, and then skeptically picked up Infinite and seem to remember a whole big difference in how smooth it felt. And I played Infinite on the hardest difficulty that was available on launch, since I remember that I got to the final fight on the airship which I just couldn't beat, so I had to watch the ending of the game on youtube.
Anyway, rose tinted glasses are a thing for sure. I'll see when I get to Infinite, and how I remember it vs how it will be now. I've reached the "western" level (siren alley I think it's called) in BS2, and man, for all the improvements they made they also made a few steps back by making you not just rescue the little sisters from the Big Daddy, but then you also have to go guard them while they harvest Adam. They're really streching out the combat.
As a funny sidenote, while playing Bioshock 1 I remember various references to Adam being harvested from slugs, but I found it interesting that you only see actual raw Adam (in the ocean) in Bioshock 2. I'm sure they used the slugs as a sort of Cthulhu/Lovecraftian reference (Bloodborne did the same); which brings the question why did they not have more Lovecraftian horror in the games. Such a missed opportunity, now that I think about it.
EDIT: And more crashes, so fucking annoying, again during a big sister fight. I think I might be done with the game. I watched the rest of the story on youtube, and it's fine I guess, but I don't think it's worth going through this hassle.