To make my shortys feel better I read this article
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-trad.html
and then moved some spacers from the outside of the brakes, nut side, to the inside of the brakes, pad side. This really seemed to help both feel and performance, and once I bought some adjustable straddle cables from tektro I was really able to dial them in for some nice modulation.