Hi meta5ical,
I have
a NT1000 and really like it. It seems to have a pretty balanced sound, but I must confess that I haven't had anything else to compare it to until recently. I picked up
a Neumann TLM103 this past weekend, but have been so busy lately that I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to compare them. As to the Rode, I really do like it. I've used it on vocals some, but primarily acoustic guitar. It seems to do a really good job on my voice, possibly a bit bright but I have a bright, somewhat 'nasaly' voice as it is. As to guitar, I really like the sound of my Taylor's through it. Like I said, I can't compare it to anything else, but based on comparisons with other similar-styled commercial CD's, it sounds pretty accurate.
As to the NT2 differences...according to Rode's website, you get Omni and Cardoid patterns (Cardoid only on the NT1000), High-Pass switch, -10db pad, a much better case, and the shockmount is included. I have no experience at all with this mic so I can't comment at all on the sound. Hopefully someone else can throw in some comments about. Their website, in case you're having trouble finding it, is
http://www.rode.com.au/ .
Hope this helped a little and good luck!