Thanks for all the comments. To be honest, this is a cheap old hybrid that has been passed around the family for a few different riders. It got a couple of teenagers through their growth spurt years, and now has studded tires for my spouse's gritty commute. I'd be happy if:

1. When the lever is released, there's enough clearance so the rim doesn't rub, even under minor variations in centering, which seems to be a fact of life with v-brakes. I don't want to re-adjust these brakes every week.

2. The lever can be squeezed to the point where it brakes with full force, before the lever touches the hand grip.

Meanwhile, I noticed that the noodle itself is kinked, to the point where the cable doesn't run through it very well, so some new noodles are on the way.

How true is the rim? You should be able to have plenty of pad clearance/travel at the lever and still feel right if the rim is centered and trued nicely. If the rim has any wave to it then that adjustment margin is eaten up.

It's as true as I could get it. I can adjust the brake so there's less than a mm of clearance on both sides without rubbing. The brake lever still squeezes all the way down to the hand grip. Within a few days, the pads will be rubbing again because the brakes don't stay centered.

I bend a curve into the straight V brake Return Springs,
to increase the force pulling the pad, away from the rim..

you may also add a spring over the cable between the arms..

and replace the modulating noodle with a solid one..

shorter the V brake arms, the less cable pull demand, it imposes ...

...without some spring in your noodle, successful intercourse is virtually impossible.

Anybody remember Pedersen self energizing cantis? Now there was a brake that could make you do a magnificent endo.

That does seem to be a weakness of v-brakes. I ran Vs on my winter commuter for years, and pulling the brakes off the bosses to lube, "exercise" and re-balance them was something I had to do several times each winter.

Scott - Petersen
 

These are what I have on my Loaded touring bike, all that mass made endos unlikely..

Got them in my time at Burly's Tandem assembly shop..
2 aboard on a tandem also make endos also unlikely ..

Yea Sun Tour's version, they only made the rear ...

Set up takes some skill, grease, star washers, and care.. (+ Kool Stop Pads)
I'm running mine , on my touring bike , with cable out the top
Modolo brake levers, a medium pull ..

When not touring, it's parked.






....

Indeed, I solved the gritty commuter problem with a coaster brake hub. My spouse's commute seems to be extra gritty due to the amount of construction.

Drum brake hubs cure the contamination, being enclosed,
and long surface of shoes ,
wear so slowly as to be fine for a generation or 2..

but fall out of build specs because consumers,
put weight and price, as question 2 and one.





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