People and especially MMO players hate change so your reaction to traits is your personal preference. I still like LotRO.
However, the new lotro system is just joining mainstream MMOs. The latest WoW talent tree is very sparse - choose 1 of 3 talents for every 15 levels (six max). Most interesting talent tree by far is Rift. Try another game but I would not expect any of the AAA title except rift to have a talent tree much different than HD.
If you are an endgame raider with considerable time to devote each week, preferably with a fixed schedule then WoW is great. If not, it's not.
Of the MMOs I have played for more than 100 hours it is
SWTOR > LotRO > Rift >> WoW >>>>> EVE.
There are so many good features of EVE but the whole / community is way too toxic for my tastes.
There are many big games ramping up the hype machine but none are shipping and it is TBD what they will do. Wildstar, Elder Scrolls Online, Everquest next, Star Citizen.
The interesting, very different option is Everquest landmark the game that is the creation part of the upcoming Everquest Next.