user_register not triggering with email verification

As explained in developer documentation of wpmu_activate_user hook, it fires immediately after a new user is activated. That means it happens after a user activates their account.

The same is happening for user_register. It is firing when a new user added to the database. It is not happening until a user activates the account. Check this documentation about user_register hook.

In your case, the after_signup_user hook could be helpful.