Yeah, Tektro levers are the simple upgrade. Cheap. Good levers. Comfortable and they stop well. I have used them with Mafac; both the Racers and cantis, Schwinn approved centerpulls (probably Weinmann though maybe Diacompe), Shimano dual pivots, Superbe sidepulls. Thought went into the design. I believe they make the Cane Creek levers and probably a few other brands as well.

They are powerful levers and work well from the top. I'm old-school. I learned to race back when we were taught to ride the drops anytime the going got iffy and certainly if we needed to do a serious stop. So I "de-tune" my brakes on the bikes I'll take in to the hills and mountains by using the less powerful Tektro V-brake levers. Not what you, BikingViking want but it works really well for me.