I've played and beaten most M&M games (7 being my fave) , but am unsure if I'll like these.
I'll also note I've played LOL3. Any input is Greatly appreciated!

Being in a similar situation to you, I'd not played either of these games before. I recognised the name as one widely considered a classic so I went for it.

I'm a little disappointed by how linear the game is so far:
- It has outdoor areas like M&M, but you can only really go to where the main quest wants you to go.
- There are shops, but each shop has it's own fixed set of items and these are 'linear' in progression too - early shops have weak equipment, later ones have stronger stuff. You can only buy one of each item stocked (once bought it disappears from the shop) so you can't fit out your whole party.
- Character development is very limited - as far as I can tell the enemies don't respawn and the loot they drop is fixed, so you can't go back to an earlier area to grind xp or gold if you're struggling.

I've only played a few hours so far so this might improve later on, but so far it does feel restricted - I can't go on to more dangerous areas before the plot lets me, but likewise I can't go back to safer areas because the monsters don't seem to respawn.

The combat is similar to the later M&M games in that it is real-time with a 'recovery' delay between attacks,except you click a button on the character status bar instead of the enemy you want to attack.

One thing I do like is that the world is well designed and interesting - it's worth reading the background lore in the manual before you start.

Davemongoose> yeah, as I said, M&M is all about freely roaming in the world with a loose story, when LoL has a developed plot but no real possibility to freely roam into the worldspace.

It's a matter of taste, i think. If you prefer a story-driven game, then LoL might be better for you. If freely wandering in the world and only occasionnaly deal with the main plot (ala Oblivion ;) ) is what you prefer, then you'll love M&M.

I love both, but I can understand some people like one and dislike the other.

Thanks for your input. I think I will give these games a chance, especially since you get both 1 & 2. Linear or not doesn't matter so much to me so long as the games are good.

Well, of course it's a matter of taste, as always, but LoL 1 is excellent! I won't say anything about LoL2 because I don't remember playing it much. It doesn't say anything about the quality of the game, of course.

The LOL games have some really creative and complex level designs with a ton of secrets that are really fun to figure out and discover. IMHO this alone makes it worth playing through them.