Lucky you. I have a Pixel 2 XL manufactured in October and yeah, the screen isn't very good when compared to the Note 8.
I had the Note 8 for a short stint. OP, I'd say they're two pretty different phones and you have to decide what you value more - form and function or software and stability. I'll explain what I mean.
Form and function is for the Note 8. Samsung make absolutely stunning devices. The Note 8 looks beautiful. The screen is gorgeous, best in class easily. Samsung make the best displays for mobiles right now and the Galaxy line really show them off. Great colours, excellent brightness levels, just all round great screens. The build and design of the Note 8 is also amazing. Small top and bottom bezels and the curved screen makes the screen bleed into the sides which leaves a large screen in a small phone footprint - a better screen to body ratio than the Pixel 2 XL. Plus the Note 8 has the works in terms of features - S-pen, a stack of S-pen related apps/functions, SD card slot, 3.5mm jack, headphones bundled with the phone, wireless charging, telephoto lens - the list goes on and on with features the phone has. Samsung really try to push that value for money prospect for customers as they throw in pretty much everything they can into the phone.
The negatives I would say (and these are subjective) is that Samsung's UI/software isn't to my liking. It looks weird, performance isn't always smooth and consistent and found myself just getting irritated by a collection of small things. The camera is good, but I wouldn't say is amazing. Bixby is pretty useless and after trying it a handful of times, I didn't touch it again. There are a lot of things the phone has which I personally don't find any use for. As amazing as the hardware is, I don't think the software is as amazing.
Software and stability for the the Pixel 2 XL on the other hand is a different beast. IMO the Pixel is all about its software. The UI and performance are excellent, very smooth, very consistent, even months down the track. Never had the phone lag or hang on anything, no matter what I'm doing. The software is minimal, so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the Note 8, but that also means it's very focused in what it does, and it does it well. Fast updates including monthly security updates, unlimited photo and video storage at original quality, and the camera which still impresses me months down the track. The camera and Google's algorithms for it just seem to nail shots every time.
The downsides (again subjective) is that the screen is way behind the Note 8. If the Note 8 has a 2017 screen, then it looks my Pixel 2 XL has a 2014 screen that Samsung used to make. I don't think the Pixel 2 XL is a very attractive device, it has a metal build but covered in a primer and paint so it feels like plastic (the coating also scratches and chips just like plastic as well) and the speakers aren't very good. They're positioned in the right spot, but other phones with 2 speakers (through ear piece and bottom firing) sound better to me. Basically its hardware is the downside for me.
So that's how I'd put it - form and function vs software and stability.