I've played EB and RTR and now I'm playing SPQR. EB and RTR are great mods and lots of new and interesting content. But if you want epic and long battles, go with SPQR, the enemy throws full stacks at you every turn. And its the only mod I've played that I needed 5 stacks of veteran armies just to conquer greece.

Each mod provides a different experience and I think you should keep on trying them to find one that you really like.