Equipment Advice - Blade & Rubber

Blade
I went from Donic Applegren Flacon to Primorac Carbon to Nittaku Shellshock and finally now a Michael Maze.  Of the three, I actually like the stiffness of the Primorac Carbon the best, but I was looking for something just slightly (very slightly) less stiff.  I never felt comfortable with the Shellshock, as the vibration dampening worked a little too well for my taste, and besides, it's a gimmicky thing that I probably didn't need. 

I thought the Michael Maze would be a good in between, but my experience is that it is much slower than advertised.  I'll stick with the Michael Maze for a bit longer, perhaps with  some faster rubber to see if things change.  Note that paddle palace notes the speed as "92" for the M. Maze, whereas Megaspin notes it as "85".  When comparing to the Primomrac (rated 95), I think the 85 number is much closer to reality.  I was thinking about trying the Joola Rossi Force, but the cost is a bit prohibitive.  Anybody have some recommendations regarding a stiff blade that is just a bit less stiff than the Primorac?

Rubber
I'm actually more at a loss on the rubber front.  I don't speed glue, and I like to hit/counter and block, and I loop when necessary (i.e., loop underspin, then go to counter hitting).  Here are some of the rubbers I have tried, and my thoughts:

999 attack hard - super hard, tacky, fast.  I like the speed and spin, didn't like the short dwell time, heaviness.  Overall I was feeling like I wanted something softer.

Mark V - I actually liked this rubber a lot on my Primorac Carbon.  I thought it was a bit too soft (only very slightly) and I didn't like that the rubber wore out fast.  (Actually the rubber lasts a long time, but I felt that the rubber performs well when new, and only "ok" when worn in a bit, but lasts for a long time in the "worn-in" stage).

Neos - I didn't like this at all, but on paper it sounds like something I would have liked.  Felt sort of like euro-like chinese rubber (hard and spinny), but extremely light and not tacky.  Dwell time too short for me, and speed was a bit too fast for me.

Juic Driva Smash Ultima - This rubber felt great to me; medium hard rubber.  I was just looking for slightly more speed and more spin.  But the dwell time, throw, etc. were all perfect. 

Bryce - I like the feeling of Bryce as well, but took some adjustment.  It is slightly fast for me (but I think I can handle it with a little practice) and it has medium throw, but I think I'd prefer if it were a little lower. 

Sriver EL - I had never tried Sriver before but I heard from so many people that it was a good rubber and classic, like Mark V.  So far, I hate it.  It's too slow, and it's so high throw that my blocks pop ridiculously high.  I understand that there is some adjustment needed here, but I thought that since my blocks with the Primorac + MarkV were ok, that this wouldn't be too different with my M. Maze + Sriver EL.  I think I was wrong here and I am regretting choosing Sriver EL.

Ok, so any recommendations?  I think I like Bryce (but maybe a little less speed, a little less throw) and Juic Driva Smash Ultima (but maybe a bit more spin.  More speed would be a nice plus).  I generally don't like chinese rubbers (too heavy, too short dwell time -- I just want "moderate" dwell time).

Thanks for your help.  I'm looking at all the choices and I'm worried about going broke, especially with all the expensive rubbers out there.


Do people think I should stick with it a bit more or try something else?  Possibly regular

Thanks for the advice.  What I got was regular Bryce - is that Bryce Hard?