Returning MMORPG'er (EQ2 vs LOTRO)

Ok I've been gone for around1-1.5 years on both games but prior to that I was just breaking in to end game on each, with LOTRO it was a few weeks before Moria was released and with EQ2 I believe Shadow Oddysey was just coming out, the question I have is which has developed significantly from those expansions?

Although I'm from the UK I work in a time zone that is GMT +4:30 or EST +9:30, therefore probablly one of the main desciding factors of which game I return to will depend on which game is currently fairing well in the population ranks, with regards to EQ2 I know there is the option to move to a different server for a fee but is there that option in LOTRO?

1 Final question is the concerns for group dynamics, when I left EQ2 it seemed there was the holy grail of group set up and without you were unlikely to get done what you set out for, it wasn't as bad in LOTRO but it was still an underlying issue, therefore has character balancing been improved in either game making it easier to find groups if you haven't rolled one of those essential classes?

Any comments or opinions that made assist in picking which game to return to would be greatly appreciated.