Well… As it happens, I have LOTS of rules because I just like playing with them.
To answer your questions:
- (“What simple, easy-to-remember rule…”) DEFENSE ROLLS!!!.. I have been playing with Player-Facing Defense Rolls since my first days of ICRPG. Players love it.
- (“Is there a gap…”) WEAPON TAGS and ALLIES. I introduced these rules in my games years ago and wrote about them extensively in the past. Depending on the setting I also use “SPELL ENERGY” or MP instead of the simple cast-at-will system of ICRPG… Basically, characters have HEARTS for HP and for ENERGY. Casting a spell requires 1 ENERGY (Rank I), 3 ENERGY (Rank II), 6 ENERGY (Rank III) or 10 ENERGY (Rank IV). You can take a FOCUS ACTION to recover 1 + WIS ENERGY (just like a RECOVERY ACTION gives you 1 + CON HP back).
About your own house rules, rolling Checks/Attempt and Effort together seems to be more of a way to speed up the game than a rule per se, no? But the idea of rolling 2D4 for Times and taking the highest number is pretty good. I had forgotten that option existed 