Alec:

Ali posted some good info. Of the 4 brands you mentioned, 3 are OEM quality. I may stand corrected, but I do not think PBR is necessarily considered to be OEM. If so, that would not mean there's anything wrong with them.

I've read that Textar's are quieter than Pagid and vice-versa. I've read that Jurid is better than Pagid and Pagid is better than Jurid and, and, and.......

I had a problem with squeal awhile back with Textar. A local pro told me that his solution to squeal had always been to use dealer-only pads. I went to the local MB dealer and bought their pads and sure enough - no more squeal. I've been told that at any given time, Pagid, Jurid; Textar may be the provider to MB, so how come the dealer pads eliminated my squeal problem? I wish I knew. I used the same anti-squeal paste. Go figure.

In the end, your choice of pads is sort of like your choice of oil brands.