Well you gotta chose what is important to you. The only time I want drops is when I'm farming. If I'm out to beat an NM that is insanely hard, then I do it for the fight. Drops are secondary in that regard.
Course in DAoC most of the time NMs were the opposing countries, and epic battles ended up with me sitting at a forge making parts for seige weapons lol. Haven't found people to kill NMs with the same zest that I have for it yet, well unless you count my friends accounts that I log into and control during the fights.