The V-brakes I had on the previous bike with good pads were STRONG. I was never lacking in power. I guess I would just have to avoid 50+mph descents in wet weather.

EDIT: To be more specific, the first pads on the bike were some really cheesy pads with the stock, low end tektro cantilever brakes. I carried those pads over to the V-brakes and it stopped better, but it wasn't until I swapped the pads for some DA9000 pads that the stopping was magical.