Saiyan Or Namekian

[Let's Go Fearless!]

When Goku defeated Piccolo on 23rd BT, the rivalry between them was over since both never tried to keep with up with it as they moved on different goals since the beginning of DBZ.

The first part of DBZ started as Goku's origin story along his Saiyan heritage-Culture and later Piccolo's origin was explored the same way. Which one got threated or explored better in your opinion?

 

[Captain Cadaver]

The rivalry was still there. That's something that's undeniable when Piccolo invented the Makankosappo for the sole purpose of killing Goku. They simply both had far more going on in their lives than a simple one-dimensional desire to surpass the other; Goku having a family life whilst training intensely and Piccolo having some self-reflection on his goals beyond fulfilling his father's ambitions.

As for which was treated/explored better, it's definitely Goku and the Saiyans. The relevance of the Saiyans was the main focus for the entirety of the Saiyan Arc and the last third of the Freeza Arc, as well as intersected with characters such as Vegeta who would allow aspects of Saiyan culture, society and psychology to be explored across the series until its end. Meanwhile, Namekian society was only explored at a surface level in the arc where it was at the centre, the Namekians were bland as their own characters and Piccolo himself fell from relevance halfway through the Cell Arc.