this idea has been submitted before, by others -
if you were a rogue, you would have to join a 'rogue guild' if you were a warrior, you would have to join a 'warrior guild'
sounds alot like stock smaug
celeborn likes diversity, and has other reasons for not wanting that type of system. Players get enough perks, if you want to be powerful, level up, or learn about enchanting your equipment
and since the enchantment space of your equipment raises as you level up, and since you gain perks every level, levelling is the way to do it