Have you played with minechem? I find its a great compromise between EE and a complete lack thereof for peeps who get uppity about it.
Minechem is hard.
That's what they say. It IS complicated but worth getting into it.
I have actually played a lot with Minechem. It's an interesting concept, but personally, I found it clunky (plus people kept sticking singular vials of various chemicals into the AE. Not good for storage >.<). I was very amused when I was able to use a Steve's Carts tree farm to make a ridiculous, self-powering diamond machine.
Minechem was just a bit too complex and not very good for building blocks, though. Recently, I found Matter Overdrive, which is EE with an RF power requirement. It doesn't have good compatibility as of yet, but that can come with time/addons.
... Plus MO adds phasers, black holes, and turning yourself into an android. I gotta say, I'm hooked.