"the MB mounts are very simple and really not much to wear out. The Toyota I have has bearings in the mounts. The shaft of the strut passes through this bearing. Strange."

Not so strange - the bearing is the upper steering pivot - the lower being the ball joint. If pivoting were allowed to occur within the strut, it would cause accelerated wear of the strut bushings. The stresses on front-end suspension parts is much greater in FWD than RWD. Thus, you also have tension or compression rods to support the lower radial arm, as well.

Steve