@StephenThat's funny that you mention that, because playing FoMT today gave me that exact same comparison. The characters retain their similar personality traits, but their jobs/roles are all mixed around, and they even wander about at certain times of the day like in MM!
I do have a PS2 so I'd like to try BtN one of these days. But for now, FoMT is doing a good job scratching that itch. I really miss how they used to make these HM games...it just hasn't been the same since around the GCN era.