The Elric shout-out is a chance to bring up the Moorcock influence on JMS, which is less discussed than the Tolkien but is very visible in the Order vs Chaos orientation of the Vorlons and Shadows and the eventual rejection of both as morally ambiguous extremists. I like to think that Elric the Technomage picked his Order name as a geeky novice because he thought Elric of Melnibone was way cool and regrets it as badly as any fan stuck with a blatantly self-identifying online handle they regret.