Here's more anecdotal experience:
I started serious running in my late 30's. I immediatly developed anterior shin splints (or more accurattly a soft tissue injury at the the periosteal interface). I visited several running stores and went through a number of pairs of jogging shoes, but nothing worked. So I visited a local sports podiatrist, Dr. Stephen Pribut. In about 10 seconds he diagnosed serious overpronation in addition to overtraining and suggested a pair of motion control shoes. I ended up with Brooks Beasts which did the trick. I ran a 1/2 mary in them just a few weeks later with no issues (other than being woefully undertrained).
Flash forward to the present day: I decided I'm tired of running with the 5lb beasts strapped to my feet. So I did a bit of investigation and discovered forefoot running for long distance. Keeping with the shoes I had, I slowly transitioned to a mid/ forefoot strike, much the same as I have used in short distance track work. A couple of weeks ago, I decided I was far enough along to switch shoes. I took an intermediate step and have a pair of Nike Free 5.0's. I'm still slowly adding distance and intensity, but have had no problems except some calf soreness in the early days.
So I've gone from one extreme to the other. Both worked for me but I like the lighter shoes and midfoot strike better. But who knows. I may end up back at Dr Pribut's with a raging case of Achilles tendonitis and it'll be back to the Beasts.
But as for the Free's, they work for mid and forefoot strikers. But due to a high heel, they are not as "barefooty" as a pair of flats. The big thing they have going for them is flexibility in the soles and light weight. But if you are a heal striker with underlying pronation issues, this is not the shoe for you.
Another note about the Frees: The number supposedly denotes the amount of support that the shoe provides. The lower the number, the less the support. IIRC there are Free 3.0, 5.0 and 8.0.