My go-to system these days is Broken Compass/Outgunned (Outgunned is sort of a refinement or second edition of the BC rules).
They are definitely survivable. Characters are capable right out of the gate, and the system telegraphs when you are in danger of being taken out pretty clearly, so if you decide to risk it, that's on you.
As for interesting options, there are not a lot of mechanized options, but given that the rules are designed to emulate pulp/action movies, your options are wide open, and characters can try anything they can think of with a fair chance of success. Want to leap across the rooftops in pursuit of a thief? Go for it. Want to throw your shield along the floor and dive onto it like a bob sled and mow down your enemies? Perfectly viable tactic.
I'm hard pressed to think of an easier system to learn that's not ultra-light. Add a stat and skill together to generate a pool of 2 to 9 d6. Roll that pool and look for matching faces. The more matching faces you get, the better your success level. If you don't get as high a success level as you want, you can re-roll the non-matching dice but you risk losing the success you already have. If you get multiple sets, you can do multiple things. I've just taught you the majority of the system.
As for good GM tools, Outgunned (which is only out to kickstarter backers at the moment, but should be in general release very soon) definitely has better GM support. The system treats enemies as a threat to be overcome, and provides easily customizable templates for enemies of varying threat levels. Given the abstracted nature of the enemy "stats" (enemies consist of an attack level, defense level, a grit/HP track, and a couple of special moves) you can use the same template to represent a group of bandits, some starving wolves, or a single competent fighter. Since the system is pretty forgiving, there's not really anything like encounter balance, but there are guidelines for when to throw different levels of enemies at the group, and how to structure an adventure/campaign.
It sounds like from your post you primarily play D&D style fantasy. This system is super flexible and easy to adapt, so even though it is designed primarily for modern-ish movie settings, it does have supplements that make it super easy to run fantasy with. I've used it to run D&D style high fantasy, and it worked great and was a blast! It allowed my players to pull off the crazy stunts and actions that they are always wanting to do in other games, but which get shot down by the crunchier rules.
Broken Compass is available now, and if you decide to try it out, I highly suggest getting the '"What If" supplement, which adds rules/modifications to run all kinds of genres. If you want to give the newer rules in Outgunned a try, there is a
free (it's pay what you want, with a suggested $1 price) 70 page quickstart that gives you a big enough chunk of the game and a modern action movie scenario so that you can try the rules out.
