shiva or vishnu

A friend asked me whether it is true that while offering prayers, Devi should be preferred to Shiva, Vishnu etc.

My answer was and is…
It is only a matter of preference..
The brahmins, especially of Tamil origin and those who migrated from their Tamil homeland, if they remember their roots, will realize that they are divided essentially as the followers of Vishnu and Shiva..
Of course Vaishnvas Bhattacharyas,etce are purely followers of Vishnu and Gurukkal or Shivacharyas among brahmins follow Shiva.. Smarthas either follow Vishnu or Shiva..

Any religious act is done by them either as Parameshwara preethyartham... or Sreeman Narayana preetyartham..

Even pooja and worship to other Gods, devi, ganesha, surya, subramania etc are performed by us after paying respects to Vishnu or Shiva as the case may be..
This is the tradition of brahmins..

I am giving my view as a brahmin, as applicable to brahmin or the Tamil brahmin..
Now there are experts who say Devi etc are supreme.. some do things in the name of Saibaba etc, some say they do it in the name of Periyavaa and all..
But for a Brahmin, these entities can be gurus, but cannot take the place of Shiva or Vishnu..
However, Anyone is free to do anything, that is democracy..

Of course, if one takes the Kaula path or Shaktha path, get initiated into some mantras of those sects, they may do it in the name of Shakti..
But Vedic or basically smartha brahmin is not expected to prefer that path, to be frank..
What we do individually is different..
You can quote this view to any person and get validated.. Brahmin should do prayer to Savitri(Gayatri) and Sandhya first and then to either Shiva or Vishnu according to their family practices.. and then alone other deities will be relevant..