Wayne -
Like Mr Adventure, I agree with your basic premise. However, let's separate the two issues of 1) stopping during complete TM brake failure and 2) stopping with normally-operating trailer brakes.
In the case of complete TM brake failure, I expect it to take roughly twice the distance to stop the TM+tow vehicle as it takes to stop the tow vehicle alone. That is because the TM weighs roughly the same as the tow vehicle, so the tow vehicle brakes have to cope with twice as much weight. Of course you get farther on the wrong side of this equation if you have a lighter tow vehicle. That is one of things that scares me about lightweight tow vehicles - and I think it scares you, too.
As for normally-operationg trailer brakes, I have been able to lock the trailer brakes under only one set of conditions. That was when my first TM was new, and I brought it home from the dealer with no load in it, and I hit the brakes hard on a sandy patch of asphalt at low speed. That is not a normal situation, of course, so you can't draw any conclusions from it.
Once I loaded some stuff into the TM, I could never again lock the brakes. I'm sure you know, from your motorcycle experience especially, that locked brakes do not produce the shortest stops - slightly short of locked is better. So I'm not sure what conclusion to draw from "I can't lock the brakes."
Nonetheless, I agree that in the real world, the TM probably cannot stop itself as fast as the TV stops. After all, it has only two brakes, not four (though the size may differ). So the TV does some of the braking for the TM. The added braking load on the TV should be relatively small, though - my expectation is that the TM should do almost all of its own stopping.
Both you and I have experienced TM brake failure, and we agree that it isn't fun. And we agree that the TV needs to be able to handle the situation, even in non-idela conditions - downhill, high speed, etc.
Bill
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