Expensive v Cheap Brushes
I started shaving with a cheap drug store boar bristle brush and Williams soap at age 13 and currently use a cheap VDH Delux boar and a good Merkur badger from the Merkur Vision set. I use MWF, Tabac, and Bigalow (Proraso) soap/cream.
The Merkur badger holds more water, lathers faster, and is softer on my face, but the VDH also lathers OK and does not feel bad on my face. I use both brushes in rotation and get a good shave with both brushes.
Only you can decide whether such differences in performance are worth the difference in cost. Subtle differences between similar brushes made by different producers and the various types of brushes from the same producer will affect how you feel about particular brushes upon their use.
It is unfortunate that we can not try them all before a purchase. About the best we can do is read the reviews, pick and try a product, and sell it if we do not like it. A brush with multiple good reviews is at least likely to have acceptable performance.:)
HTH