Fully agree with the advancement of the pads as per Avid instructions (se original Stilus forum/thread, I put it on there).I'm waiting for the postman to bring a V4 rebuild kit this morning, I have a rear caliper with one seized & two chipped pistons. All in about £30 which is entirely reasonable imo. They're on my trail bike, I've kept the guides on the Stilus as I've found them ok after setting up & they did need setting up from the factory.
The issue for me & I know others had the same was excessive lever throw. The cure was to remove the wheel, advance the pistons & bleed or top up as necessary & that gave the short lever throw I wanted from them.
I hated the throw but this sorted it and I love 'em now.
I threw in a pair of Uberbike pads just to see how they performed (and save a few quid!), and I love them too. They work great and I feel, for me anyway, offer a really good feel that allows good modulation but also do the business when hitting them hard. I always use brake cleaner after every wash/silicon spray and have never had a problem.