or AoC...if you can tolerate the gross lack of quality content.

Their pvp is skill based. Proof of this is the fact gear means nothing till the very end of the game.

If they do it any way similar to what they did with DAoC, the average gear that 65% of the people will play in will be fairly easy to come by. The uppder 35% will have the "uber" gear. In the end it won't matter though. If you have at least SOME gear, regardless if it's midway or highend, you'll still be competitive. It'll be more skill than gear based, I'll guarantee it.

The WAR developers weren't oblivious to the outside world. Gear will be a part of it, but it won't be the whole, nor near it. That and this game is RvR, not PvP. Here you'll fight in groups with strategies, using your brains more than your brawn. A well planned group will succeed more than a well geared group.

As for your Population concerns:
Alb > Hib > Mid ;;; Always in population for DAoC, yet...
Mid = Alb = Hib ;;; In all encounters, one would triumph, but the next fight could be totally different. Numbers DO matter, but it was an everyday thing for 1 group to kill 2 groups.

Mythic will do what they can to balance the Population, the rest is left up to the players. In general, you'll find those more looking for a challenge to play the smaller pop. These will be the players skilled and confident enough to overcome the obsticles of lesser populations. Playing smart can help a lot too. If there are more of them than you, don't fight on open ground; kinda makes sense. WoW never really had this type of strategy because the numbers have always been equal, or very close to it in their BG's and arenas.