Cleombrotus
Mongoose
I used to play MERP and I can tell you that it wasn't much like tokien.
Sorry, but such a statement is going to need more than one line to justify itself. There is absolutely loads about MERP that captured Middle Earth really well as I think I've stated earlier in the thread, and that's only touching the surface.
I play more, much more, RQ than MERP, love RQ and support RQ, but I still think that MERP captured Middle Earth better than I could see Runequest doing it.
Ultimately it's just a system, and either will work, but when I see a RQ character, they don't seem to have the nobility and poise of a MERP character. They're too rough and brutal (I know that sounds weird) but I just don't see the might and majesty of the Dunedain encapsulated in a SIZ stat, and I don't get the Light of Valinor in a POW stat. RQ is for '300', and MERP is for LOTR (visual style, not comparative cinematic quality of either film).
Of course, Tolkien has been visualised in multiple ways as well, so it's only my opinion, but I stand by it.