Best knot from Declaration Grooming vs The Varlet vs Black Eagle vs Mozingo?

Hi fellas I am thinking of buying a high end brush, but right now I just want (and can only afford) one.

For those of you with extensive collections that have tried all of them, between the various DG batches, Varlet XD, HT3, and ZT3, is there one that stands out as your absolute favourite? I want high density with very soft tips.

For a while when Black Eagle and Mozingo first came out there was a lot of hype about them being better than DG knots, but that seems to have settled down a little and from what I gather people seem to view them all pretty evenly.

Thanks for reading and any advice!

For me:

Best:
ZT2

DG: 5,6,9B, 11

Quite Good:
ZT3

DG: B4,8,9A

Varlet

SOME batches of Simpson SilverTip & Manch (some not so good)

Really Good
Paladin and all their knots consistently really good

DanLaw have you tried Black Eagle?

Not ht2

My ZT2s are the best. Then B6 and B11. ZT3. I liked several of the Dec batches actually, kept very few.

My HT2 was pretty good, sold it tho. Didn't care for the Varlets, sold them too.

I like to dabble in brushes just for fun. I'm not real particular tho. I don't collect.

If you are only getting 1 and it needs to be readily available, I would get a handle and send it off for a B11 knot....and thats exactly what I've done twice now. Like ZT2, B11 is nice enough that I will keep 2.

PS. I liked Paladin but I don't care for bulb knots for face lathering.

If you are only getting 1 and it needs to be readily available,  I would get a handle and send it off for a B11 knot....and thats exactly what I've done twice now. Like ZT2, B11 is nice enough that I will keep 2.

If I want a Jefferson handle, do you know if there are any artisans Scott is cool with doing his Jefferson handle if I do send a handle to him?

I am almost certain there are some but ive only commissioned Bob @Bob Quinn at Elite razor to build my handles and they are not Jeffos. I do think he has a similar shape.

My guess is TurnNShave has one.

Actually, I just checked the Dec site, and there are still some photos of Dogwood handles up on Jeffos. That might be a good place to start.

My all time favorite brush is a 29mm HD Varlet Beehive. I don’t lather super aggressively. I think those who do might want a denser brush with more backbone, but this is perfect for me.

I like all of the brushes discussed above - some are just not obtainable (or at least not easily) - another, outside-the-box, brush to consider is Voigt & Cop from Italy - they have a FB page. I really like this silvertip knot - dense, soft tips - so much so that I got a second knot and had Milton at TurnNShave put it in one of his handles - just a thought...

I don't have that much experience, only ZT2, ZT3, Rhodium.
All of them are soft, dense and have good backbone. They are high quality brushes.

Hair Thickness: Rhodium (Thick) > ZT2 > ZT3 (Thin)
For me, Rhodium is more Manchurian, ZT3 character is like 2 band silvertip.
ZT3 is the softest. Rhodium has the most backbone. ZT2 is middle of these two brushes.
I can understand many members like ZT2 more, since it has very good balance btw softness and backbone.

But, I prefer more backbone and slightly less soft brushes, so I like Rhodium more. 
All of them are very good, really up to your preference, which one is the best.