I'll chime in here as I had the same question, but only after I bought an Air 2. Having not used my "old" iPads much in the past, I hadn't thought of updgrading at all. However, I was at a series of offsite trainings where my laptop was used for the presentations - leaving me laptop-less for a majority of the day. Having a tablet handy during this time would've been nice as I could've kept up with my email and other tasks. So, that got me to searching and I found a decent deal on an Air 2. My last iPad was an original mini, so I had missed a few upgrades since then. The Air 2 was awesome - I loaded it up with the apps that were compatible to my laptop programs (Office, FileBrowser, VPN client, Skype for Biz, Remote Desktop client, etc.) and I was off and running.
I take a lot of handwritten notes and wanted to continue that practice with the iPad. I picked up an Andonit Pixel stylus and loaded up GoodNotes and Notability and had a working facsimile of taking notes on paper. It wasn't perfect, but it worked well. I was pretty happy.
Then, I tried out the Pencil and a Pro and wow; just WOW. For how well the Air 2/Pixel works, the Pro/Pencil combo is miles beyond. That was the selling point for me and the Air 2 was sold to help fund the updgrade to the 9.7 Pro. Additionally, the screen and quad speakers really make the move from the Air 2 to the Pro feel like an upgrade. To me, it was worth it. With the Smart Keyboard and the Logitech CREATE thrown into the mix, I've got as close to a laptop replacement as I've gotten to over the years. I find myself using the Pro way more then I've used any of my previous iPads.
So, I vote for the 9.7 Pro.
