In terms of lather, I generally can't tell the difference between a Tweezerman, and a Thater... However, in terms of face feel, I can... The thater feels so much softer, and more luxurious on the face... However, past a certain point, they all feel the same to me (excepting the Thater... This thing just stands alone.)

So I'd say there's nothing wrong with your findings... There will be a difference if you take bacbone into account.. But that probably only effects how long it takes to load the brush

Granted, I'm not the most experienced, but I'm getting pretty well along.