Like Kleenex, to be a V-brake it has to be Shimano. Linear-pull is the collective name for such long arm, side pull cantilever brakes.

I'm not an engineer so I can't say if there's a leverage or power advantage to linear pull brakes. I kind of take the approach that enough brakeing power is enough and traditional center pull cantilever brakes have plenty of stopping power to suit me.

I think that the better quality linear pull brakes, like Shimano and Avid, are a lot easier to set up and center than the older cantilever brakes but the newer designed canty's clearly are cutting into that advantage.