Juicy 7 vs Deore XT

I've just bought a new (old) hardtail off fleabay and I'm thinking about changing the brakes & shifters, but I'm after some opinions.

It came with Juicy 7's and SRAM X7/X9 shifters/deraileurs, but I'm not really a fan of SRAM after experiencing the joys of Shimano's Rapid Rise rear derailleurs teamed with integrated brake/shifter levers on my Jekyll.

More likely I'm an unco gumby, but I just find latter combo makes controlling the front brake while downshifting on the rear so much smoother - I tend to grab a bit of extra front brake downshifting with SRAM and have nearly sent myself over the bars a few times [much embarassment] .

However, I really do like the Juicy 7 brakes, so I was wondering what you good folks thought of XT hydro's against Juicy 7's.

Cheers, Hawkeye