"DAoC is still missing a few things IMO"
Just curious, but what do you think DAoC is missing? I find it a little stagnant, myself, in that all battles seem to be very similar. RvR is still a blast, though, but if they could balance some more, it would be better.
I still think that EQ and DAoDC are both the ones to beat at this point. Shadowbane is a disappointment, and Earth and Beyond was really bad. I tried Asheron's Call 2 for about 10 minutes, but the lag was just too much. And the less said about Anarchy Online the better.
I'm sort of waiting for something better, too, but I think that MMORPGs will have to offer a lot more their first release in order to compete these days (and they need to have better stability on day one).