Eibach's for a soft sprung drop.
H&R's for a performance drop.
I would not consider Eibachs a real "performance" spring. I would chose BAT over Eibach personally.
BAT's a moderate drop with performance between Eibach and H&R
Bilsteins is the best performance strut. They will not give the "rated" drop from the respective spring because of the very aggressive valving. Keep that in mind.
Koni is the best overall (i.e. compromise) strut since you can adjust them to be softer and give a more cushy ride.
If all out performance is your goal then get the Bilsteins.
If you need to have some comfort (the Bilsteins are really a race strut in street clothing) then the adjustability of the Koni's is a must. Nothing else has the ability to do it besides the Koni either.
I personally love the Bilsteins but they do transfer ever transition and bump directly to you. No compromise. I am sure some would not like them.
For comparison - The Euro struts are a nice upgrade from stockers.
A slight upgrade over SVT/early SE struts.
They have nice ride quality and average life. From the posts and info so far they have below average life with any lowering spring though.
My choice would be Bilstein and H&R's for the best performance.
However you said big drop and soft ride. (good luck!)
That would be Eibachs (softest spring) and Koni's set on soft. Though any stock strut would be soft but of course wear very fast!
You can't have a good performance strut and a soft ride without adjustability. Always a compromise somewhere. Even with adjustable struts.
I just chose mine to be losing some ride quality for performance.
