You mentioned at the top, your concern is which is better for family and friends, so I'm guessing you mean the casual player. For this, I would choose POTC. Obviously not as deep as TSPP in rule set and use of strategy, POTC still does have some strategic moves that can be used by the advanced player (e.g. combining Tortuga MB and shots to the Tortuga disc with the Collect Crew mode to maximize Collect Crew value).

I feel POTC has a more forgiving playfield, most shots are near the back/middle, it doesn't have pop-bumpers 12cm from the flippers like TSPP, also easier to get a multiball; all things I think are appealing to the novice/casual player. But its still interesting enough to provide you a challenge, the person who will most likely play it the most.

I think TSPP is the better game, but for your specific scenario, POTC is the way to go.