It appears you figured out that the newer R is a bundle of newer versions of the two gzips that constituted the previous version of R (if THAT makes sense). In any case, throw away the 161122 gzips and use the one 170107 gzip for R.
As for python, there is a newer better python 2.7.12 available for download with links elsewhere posted on this forum (search python to find URLS).
Both are ported using z/OS enhanced ASCII features. Both are beta. We are focusing on finishing the python port along with a good set of libraries for graphics and data science applications (and including python 3 support) before we return our attention to finishing R. There has been a ton more interest in python than in R.
As for other tools, if you do not see what you want on our download pages on the Rocket Software web site, you may want to consider buying support as this grants you a lot of influence in setting our priorities (and you will get better support).
Regards,
-Peter