All levers for mechanical brakes are the same. Just don't get old school levers which are design for cantilever brakes only. I don't really mean old school...only for mtb as cross still use canti brakes.
There is a differences between BB7 and Juicy & Hayes HFX 9. Juicy 3 sucks. Get at least Juicy 5 but not Juicy 7 as the red knob for adjustment will actually cause you problem along the road. I have had two friends so far that had an issue with the red knob causing the brakes to be stuck. So they ended up racing with no brakes for one day. Why pay more and get more hassle. If you love Avid hydraulics, get the Elixir CR but its going to be over your budget.
Shimano XT is ok. I will suggest Shimano XT over Hayes HFX 9.