looking for top 3 brute powersets

i'm reading on the forums about these brutes that are good for different reasons i want to see what you people say are the top 3 powersets for PVE and i'm looking for a AT with good ST & AOE's what would work really well for someone that solo's and occasional grouping.

Fiery Melee: Best ST primary when paired with Shield Defense, with very respectable AoE In Fire Sword Circle.

Dark Melee: Best ST primary with or without Shield Defense, very little AoE

Super Strength: The best AoE Primary for Brute, hands down in Footstomp with Forced Feedback Recharge Proc

Electrical Melee: Second to Super Strength with Thunder Strike and Lightning Rod, best paired with Shield Defense

Dual Blades: Another decent AoE set, best paired with WP and Elec Armor.

isn't SD kinda expensive and a pain to use ?

I will get on the Fiery Melee train here. It has ST, AoE, a cone, Hard hitters, and reasonable endurance costs. For sure one of my fave primaries and one of the top performers. Unfortunately for some, all of that awesome comes at the effect of having no secondary effect outside of additional damage.

Superstrength is great, but can be tricky. It is easy enough to go permaRage, but the crash can be problematic depending on your secondary and playstyle. Skewed heavily towards ST, but Footstomp makes up for it in the end.

I think WM/BA are undervalued. They are both very balanced as far as ST,AoE are concerned, and have some useful mitigation for all secondaries. Stone melee is similar too, but can be thirsty.

ELM is very AoE oriented.
DM is ST oriented.
Dual Blades is ok, but I don't like that it doesn't feel like it has a heavy hitter.
Energy melee is bad. Hits hard, but you might wonder why it has to feel so gimped to do what it does.

I would say FM, SM, or SS for mixed group play.

The best brute powerset for AOE is Levi Mastery. Just doesn't work too well with RttC in Willpower or any secondary that ties ur survivability to being right next to the mobs. Just pair it up with a primary that doesn't cause redraw and ur golden.

I'd say Mu Mastery is way better for AoE damage than Levi, and Soul Mastery is better overall.

As for primaries, the best all-around set in my opinios is Claws. It has very high ST and AoE damage as well as some decent migitation in Focus and Shockwave, and a place for AH -Res proc. The only drawback is that it has pure lethatl damage.
I don't have much experience with BA and WM, but both sets look pretty good on paper, with latter appearing to be slightly better.

I haven't done official tests on FM vs DM. But FM is more DoT centric and thus shines best with the more +DAM you have. (Which is why a FM Brute > FM Scrapper because Fury affects DoT while Critical doesn't, and the +850% damage ceiling on Brutes)

So without Shields, FM loses the AAO +DAM Buff (and the KD AoE for some mitigation) and might lose out its king of ST damage without it(DoT ticks lower damage). Whereas DM has known to be king with or without it now ever since EM lost its effectiveness in Energy Transfer. It makes sense though, DM has very little if not any AoE, but a ton of utility. FM has barely any utility or mitigation and is straight damage and DoT.

I dont see why SM is not listed as one of the top 3, straight out of the gate.

Basicly find a build that feels right for you to use, that feels comfortable
and you can say to your self "Yeah this feels right" Take the advice of the
veterans here (Some thing I'm not) but don't abide to it like it was from
some holy script find what's good for you other wise you wont enjoy the
game as much useing a Toon that just dosen't feel right.

Me I found my self comfortable using Axe/Shield & Axe/Willpower.
Mostly becouse you simply just toggle your defence powers on and just
forget about them and just whack away with your axe which for me has
an awsome animation with its attacks but then again that's just my view.

But don't be drawn into going for a set becouse other people say it's the
best find what works best for you and your style of playing.

If you have money to burn, go for a Fiery Melee or Electric Melee Primary and the Shield Defense Secondary. Softcap its defense. You'll have one of the best tanking brutes in the game, plus great damage. Shield Defense has a power called Against All Odds that functions as a taunt aura, and it draws in a big pile of aggro. Combined with Shield Charge, your melee attacks, and Taunt, you'll find yourself drawing enemy fire like no one's business. Also, A softcapped Shield Defense Brute has added resistance and health that a Super Reflexes Brute won't have.

I like pairing Fiery Melee and Electric Melee with Shield for different reasons. Fiery Melee has the top ST damage, and having Shield Charge makes up for it's slight lack of AoE. Electrical Melee has plenty of AoE, and Shield Charge brings it to an obscene level. You have Both Lightning Rod and Shield Charge to play with, and can use Thunder Strike and Chain Lightning while your big booms recharge and never have to make a single ST attack.

Willpower is a GREAT set for people who solo, and it doesn't require much in the way of money to make a great build. It's biggest issue for a TANKING brute is that it has a weak taunt aura. Pairing it with Super Strength or Claws will make a well rounded character with loads of damage and survivability, but just about any primary works well with it. Oh, and it lacks a heal.

Invulnerability is the best Resistance set, and is another good choice for people who want to play a tanking Brute. I don't know off the top of my head how good Invincibility is as a Taunt Aura compared to others, but I've seen Invulnerability brutes pull off some amazing stuff. It works well with just about any Primary, like Willpower.