Modern dual pivot brakes have excellent stopping power and offer great mechanical advantage which makes for a lighter pull but this does not mean that older designs cannot offer the same stopping power.

Quality centre pull brakes with the right set up will offer the same power albeit with a little more pull required, Mafac Racers are excellent but do suffer from flexy hardware so replacing the hangars with stiffer ones helps. An old trick was to press the front hanger against the frame to eliminate the flex it has.

The Zeus centre pulls I run on my Cooper with conventional Campy levers should come with a warning that they have immense stopping power, they are fitted with Matthauser pads which are the same as Kool Stops.

Likewise, cantilever brakes can also provide excellent stopping power although the set up and proper set up is critical.

Most single pivot brakes fall between centre pulls and dual pivots in the general stopping power department, the single pivot Ultegra brakes on my racing bike stop my 150 pound self in a hurry and rider weight does play a role in all of this.