I always get confused by explanations of mechanical advantage- I get the concept but the whole issue of lever feel I'm not sure on.

"The more mechanical advantage you have, the closer the brake shoes will be to the rim at their rest position."

"A hard, crisp feel to the brakes on a bicycle may be a sign that the brakes don't have much mechanical advantage"

I have low profile cantis and the only way I get any feel out of STI levers is when I have the pads close to the rim and when the pads don't have to travel far. When they're further away from the rim I almost bottom out on the levers getting the pads to touch the rim. They certainly don't feel like road brakes, but the more MA I have the more feel I have. Granted I don't have much mud clearance but this wasn't issue last year in New England.

Perhaps, It's the brakes I have, there no-name cheapies that came with an entry level cross bike. I play to upgrade them soon because they're a pain in the ass and they're almost past there time. I plan on getting TRP Euros or frog legs.

I learned to tune my brakes just by playing with them a lot and finding the balance of lever feel vs. braking power, it took a while but now it's fairly easy for me to find that balance.

Also anyone have any thoughts on barrel adjusters? Are they helpful or do they not do much?