What do you refer to as 'brightness', maybe as per above, you say, mix of spill and spot. I myself have been looking at a new edc light and quite like the look of the Fenix PD25R. Seems pretty small and offers spill and spot with the main emphasis on spot due to the smooth reflector and deep seated LED.
Nitecore had the MH20 and MH23 which were very similar to the MS03. I've carried the MH20 for years and it's a really good light. Too bad they are discontinued.