I've somewhat extensively driven the 718 GT4, M2C, and 981 GT4 (the last of which I own myself). Have also had other M cars in the past (E46, E92), for context. No experience with the OG M2 so I'll use the M2C as a surrogate.
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it's clear the experience is next level compared to the M2
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This is true...sort of. But it depends on what you value.
The Porsche is built and tuned for serious driving and track work. It's precise and can be brutally fast when unencumbered (track) and driven well. It's loud and sounds amazing in general (especially the 981). But where it really separates itself from anything BMW these days is control feel: despite EPAS, it's appropriately weighted at speed (taut), offers feedback that rivals many hydraulic racks (it's awfully close to the E46 I still have), and loads up beautifully towards the limit. The shifter is very short and very mechanical, the clutch and the brakes have visceral bite and great modulation (brakes especially with proper track pads). Compare to BMW's dead, over-assisted steering, rubbery shift linkage, and vague clutch and brakes.
Here's the "sort of" part: it's an atmo motor so it isn't going to provide turbo torque and the shove people have come to expect these days (even though it will easily keep pace with a stock M2 at full bore down the straights--especially the 718 version--it doesn't feel it). You buy it for sound and throttle response. The gearing is tall. On the whole, it will feel significantly slower on the street.
The second issue is that it's not nearly as playful as the M cars inside the envelope: the rear is well-planted and won't rotate aggressively without coercion, and it can be a relative handful when it gets loose...you need to be quick to catch it. The lazy powerslides you can pull off in an M2 are a lot more work to achieve and sustain in a GT4, if possible at all, especially at street speeds. This is still a mid-engine car, after all, though very forgiving by that standard. I'm not much of a hooligan driver (never was) so I don't care about this, but a lot of people do.
BTW: Porsche rounded off a lot of edges moving from 981 to 718. It's a faster car but IMO a bit less engaging when it comes to sound and control feel. I cancelled my deposit over this and opted to wait for the RS or maybe just add something like a 997.2 GT3RS to mix things up. All down to preference; YMMV.
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If I get the GT4, I don't plan to track it. I would just be taking spirited drives around the Rockies/west coast.
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If this is the case, I would probably get a GTS 4.0 or keep the M2. You lose a lot by not tracking the GT4 at least occasionally--that's its natural element. All of the things that make it seem overly serious and buttoned down on the road make a lot more sense when you're bending a turn at 140+ or negotiating a deeply technical corner complex. Even the tall gearing starts to make some sense when you can carry third all the way through a fast sweeper and then blast out of the apex right in the meat of the powerband. Meanwhile, all of the things that make the M2 so entertaining at 5/10ths (like the rear axle) in turn make it almost tedious to drive in the track context.
The other issue is livability: not even just NVH (motor is right behind you and there's very little sound insulation in the cabin; the GT4 is
loud) but things like approach angles (getting in any out of driveways/parking lots) and unwanted attention. I don't daily drive mine and wouldn't want to--and again, it's not because of NVH.
Is it worth 2-3x the money? To me it is, but I have a track habit (and frankly I wasn't stretching my budget so there was no added stress in spending the extra money). In your case, maybe not.