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At this point Merry is leading. I think as the captain of the conspirators, leaving Frodo no choice in the matter, Merry became the most in charge for this leg of the journey. And also because he knows more about the forest than the others (which is not saying much).

At least I read Merry to be leading. I will look for signs of exactly when Frodo begins to become more in charge. At this point, he has never considered that he is leading anything, he expected all along that he would have Gandalf to know what to do, and absent Gandalf, Merry appears to have a plan.

Frodo is very depressed, I think. He's finally left the Shire and he doesn't believe he'll ever return. His friends coming along both cheered him up and worried him, because now he's responsible, in a way, for them too. Frodo doesn't lead anywhere at all in the whole first book. His journey is not primarily an outward one, but inward. He may face physical hardships but it is the spiritual battles that will most injury him. I'd like to say more but I'm in the corner anyway and don't want to get banished further. Anyway this whole spiritual battle, IMO, has already started, and he feels it.