Brakes

V-brakes
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Pros:
-Cheap
-Easy to service
-Light
Cons:
-Don't perform well in wet conditions
-They wear rims out, which is dangerous and expensive
-They have been said to have poor modulation (I don't believe that though, my V's modulate just fine once you get used to how they feel)

Disc brakes
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Pros:
-Very powerful
-Said to have excellent modulation
-Won't wear out a rim
-More or less unaffected by weather conditions
Cons:
-Heavy
-Expensive
-Will require you to get new wheels if you don't have disc-ready hubs
-Can be harder to service

I dunno exactly how long discs have been around but they're certainly not new. As for ABS....where would the fun in that be? 😉

ABS would actually lower the performance potential of a bicycle. It has been seen in motor racing how in some cases when cornering that one or more wheels may lift off the ground. Obviously if the driver was braking at the time then the wheel off the ground would momentarily lock causing the ABS system to activate and release all the brakes. The result? The car goes off the track!
Similarly in Rally driving drivers rely on being able to lock the brakes to make sharp "handbrake turns" in which the whole car will slide sideways around the corner. This is not possible with ABS.
Mountain biking has a similar demands where occasinally in order to handle the bike appropriately it is necessary to lock the rear wheel and slide, pivoting about the front wheel. So ABS would be detrimental to handling of an MTB.
It would also be no fun.

I had the same problem as you 18 months ago, in the end i went for disc's. I used to have V-brakes but i got tired of adjusting them every 200 miles or so from where the cable had stretched. I'm not sure if the stretching cable is a big problem with mechanical disc's, i got hydraulic in the end on my bike. Also disc brake pads last a lot longer, apparently as much as 20000 miles, mine have lasted for 4000 miles so far and they are hardly worn. The other thing that annoyed me with V brakes is if your wheel is slightly buckled the things would always rub against the rim which slows you down and causes uneven braking. I would love to have ABS on my bike, although i have a MTB i usually stay on road. I have fallen off loads of times because of front wheel lock when cornering, it's not a big problem on dry roads but when they are wet i always seem to lose grip, no matter how shallow the turn and what tyre i use.

ABS on the front and not on the back. That way you can still slide the back end out and not wory about the front end locking up. How about you road racers out there. I have seen many a pile up when it is wet out.

what are v and disk brakes? i thought bikes only came with calipers.

Check out the disk brakes here.

http://www.grimeca.it/