At least the game is up on release day, unlike triple A titles like Diablo 3 or Sim City. They've done the right thing to stagger logins and keep server loads balanced.
They haven't been pushing the pack hard. Paying $200 gives you a bunch of stuff, including priority access during peak times - it'll always be like that, not just on launch.
2-3 minutes is really not a big deal. The queue here is to make sure things don't get completely out of hand and crash. Would you prefer people wait in an orderly line and everyone gets to play, or we all pile in at once and bring everything down and nobody plays?
I think open beta is an excellent idea, especially for stress tests and bug fixes. You can only do so much in a closed environment. It also gets the money coming in for future production and shows the company it's worth their time to keep it up and running.
The eagles don't interfere in the events of Middle Earth and they're not immune to the lure of the ring. Besides, the Nazgul would've dunked them hardcore the second they made a move into Mordor airspace.