Rule of thumb:

According to Forum Member #1, the Dia-Compe/Weinmann centerpull design is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
According to Forum Member #2, the Dia-Compe/Weinmann centerpull design is the worst thing since (fill in the blank with your favorite repulsive object/person/thing/place/et c.).

Personally, I hate them for their sloppy center cable.

The design of the Shimano 500 centerpull far surpassed that of the Weinmann 999/Dia-Compe design, in my opinion - both in performance, lever arm strength (resistance to bending under brake loads), and ease of cable adjustment.

Take care,

-Kurt