It's just a queston of finding the right blend. I do think that exp should be given for killing monsters etc, as otherwise their would be no point in killing them you could just run past them. There should be rewards for killing these monsters, but not at the expense of exp for solving quests. Might and magic got it just right, you were delighted when you solved a quest, and the difficulty of the quest was reflected in experience gained. Aditionally solving certain quests gave you other advantages e.g you had to solve a certain quest before you could become a master and gain the best spells to cast/ or use the best types of armour.
I suppose the monsters you killed whilst completing a quest could be considired exp for that quest, but this simply isn't enough. The exp for that quest should be gained by SOLVING THE QUEST, and subsequently reporting back to the relevant people for a justifiable reward.(not just someone saying "well done i'll never forget this" but instead a significant exp gain which makes you think that quest was hard but i'm glad i've completed it.
