IronArcturus: Has anyone tried that "Heroes of Annihilated Empires?"
A generous GOGer surprised me with it recently. I've spent several hours playing it (campaign and skirmish modes,) and I think it is really fun. I thought It blended RTS and RPG pretty well.
In the campaign, you control a hero like you would in an RPG - you have an inventory, you level up, use skills, and trade at shops in the world. At the same time, you command an army in traditional RTS-style. Some missions include base building, some don't.
In skirmish/multiplayer mode, you choose at the start of the game whether you want to play as a hero and recruit "neutral" units - or you can choose to trade your hero for a base and build your own army. You can play as 4 different races, and they are all very unique with diverse units and spells.
I'm not very good at it, but I've had a ton of fun playing it.