Re: ~ All Out War~d&d Vs Hero Vs Palladium
For customizing characters and campaign worlds, FH wins hands down. You can do high fantasy, low fantasy, and everything in between.
For an impromptu game and getting non-gamers to play, I give the edge to D&D. Keep in mind I play the older versions (Basic, 1E, 2E) rather than the current edition.
I never played Palladium. One of my firends has a bunch of the books. I remember being unimpressed by the fantasy game.