I collect both, but fell in love with the T202s about 10 years back. I'm not going after the set or anything, but keep picking up ones I like. You can't go wrong with either set, and like was mentioned with T205s, the T202's won't break the bank either. One thing I like (in addition to the obvious-- action shots, portraits, great player combos, back write ups, etc) is that the T202s can still look amazing in low grade. Some of my best looking ones are "2". All sets have their share of nice looking low grade examples, but just seems T202 has a higher proportion than the norm.
T202 Cobb O'Leary PSA2 prior sale.jpg
T202 Baker Berry PSA2 prior sale.jpg
Correct there are 132, and guys like Cobb, Mathewson, Meyers have far more appearances than some others. These aren't variations, but unique combinations of players and/or center panel photos. Some of the player pairings are blah, but many are classic. Baker Collins is a great duo, as are Speaker Wood, Cobb Jennings, Matty Meyers, McGraw Bresnahan, etc, and of course the Tinker Evers (center) Chance combo. There 3 back variations, most common being the black font Factory 649, next being red font Factory 30. The black Factory 30 is pretty scarce, though seems there's no premium attached to it. I think some board members have worked to compile checklists for each of the back variations.
Again, can't go wrong with either set, and good luck whichever way you go.