Avid are my favourites actually, though I haven’t spent much time with Hope. Whilst they can have problems and are a bit fiddly to bleed, generally they’re pretty solid and don’t need much maintenance or faff. I’ve had my Juicy 5s for ages and they’re still working, pistons a bit sticky now though. Mine came on a 2nd hand bike that I bought in 2008 and have been everywhere including a summer in Whistler where the only maintenance I had to do was change the pads once.
I thought I’d try Shimano SLX and tbh they’re a bit shit in comparison. Weird lever feel and the bite point is too far in. Plus they’re not exactly low profile levers, they look crap tbh. And I don’t trust their reliability seeing as I managed to crack a piston when pushing the pads back in with a bit of force. Still haven’t actually used both on the bike because the rear one is STILL at **** Rose/Madison for warranty replacement – this is going on 2-3 months now. Useless!