On a molecular level, all the cannabinoid molecules are the same, regardless of Sativa or Indica. However, there are other "flavors" (terpenes, flavonoids, volatile esters, etc., that appear in different combinations depending on the plant. Indica tend to have certain groups of these compounds than does Sativas.
I find that strains which have a lot of flavor and smell, tend to work better for me. I like flavors to stick in my pallet and sinus. One of my favorite old school strains was what we called blueberry...or sometimes skunk...or sometimes blueberry skunk. The flavor was strong. The smoke stuck to your clothes...patchouli oil, anyone?
We used to get most of our weed from Mexico. We didn't know Sativa from Indica, if anyone asked, but being that most of it was landrace Mexican, it was Sativa. All those equatorial strains with long flowering days, was Sativa. It really depended on HOW it was grown. If it was grown well and allowed to fully ripen, there was no touching it in terms of flavor and quality. If it was grown poorly, it tasted like dry hay and sucked....but we smoked it anyway.
I've smoked beautifully-grown-yet-shitty weed and I've smoked poorly-grown-yet-fantastic weed. I'll take the tastiest weed over a pretty bud, any day -Sativa or Indica.