I think its better.
Its definately more quest oriented.  You can just sit around and grind exp on mobs all day if you want, but you get better rewards and experience from completing quests (including "heritage" items like Dwarven Work Boots, J-boots, or Ghoulbane).
I haven't done much raiding yet, so I can't really comment on that.
I did try WoW (during the beta) and I personally wasn't impressed, tho I'll be the first to admit I'm probably pretty biased since I've played EQ1 since its beta and my original character is still around.

Frank