Only you can decide how big a deal the on/off feel of shimano is to you!
They are great brakes, and the deore,slx,zee are brilliant value for money
However, if you are looking at XTR level, the value for money is not the issue, as the Hopes are in the same ball park.
So you getting into personal preference for feel, reliability, availability of spares, ease of working on them and looks….
for me, XTR v Tech 3 E4, the hopes win every time.
If your saying slx v Tech 3 E4, I would struggle to justify spending the extra money on the hopes as the shimanos are so good for the money.
Having said that, I did manage to justify it to myself when I ended up with Tech Evo M4’s on the main bike & on the second bike I have SLX’s
to consider…
Avids have much better “feel” imo than shimano, and are supposed to have resolved their reliability issues with the more recent guide range.
I have had avids before, and it will take a lot to make me try them again!
Formulas…(the ones?)
get good write ups, but I would be worried about spares, and haven’t tried them myself