I love my Note 2. It is close to perfect in the size category. As part of my job I sometime test on a 4" iPod Touch, and it feels to very tiny. I can't remember how I even used my old iPhone 3G. Typing on the 4" was painful; the hit target was so small.
I think this is one of the reasons that Samsung has taken such a large share of the market. They offer devices in a variety of sizes, for which they've been criticized, but allows for a perfect size for everyone. I know I could never go back to a smaller screen size.
Yeah I do some testing on the 4S and it feels tiny now compared the my 5S. As for the typing though, software plays a big part in this too. I absolutely hate the default keyboard on my HTC One and I have no problems with my 5S and even the smaller 4S.
I think this is one of the reasons that Samsung has taken such a large share of the market. They offer devices in a variety of sizes, for which they've been criticized, but allows for a perfect size for everyone. I know I could never go back to a smaller screen size.