Nanda,

I generally use Power Pro, Fireline or Spiderwire, but I don't think the brand name means a lot as long as you are getting a good quality brand.  When I got my first braided line the box said to use a Palomar knot so I did and I still do.  What ST said is correct pull both the standing end and the tag line equally.  What you want to avoid is putting a lot of pressure on the line which will result in friction which causes heat.
I started  getting in trouble when I became over confident in my knot tying ability and would pull the knot tight even if I had to pull hard.  I blamed the line, but my wife who was using the same line and tying the same knot was not having any problem with breakage.  The light should had gone on, but it didn't.  The key is to keep the line wet and pull both ends so the knot doesn't cinch up until the very end.

I use 20 pound test because the diameter of the braided line is so small compared to mono that the heavier test actually has a smaller diameter than smaller test line made of mono.  There has been a previous discussion on the size of the line and how many fish you catch.  I personally think that if you are tolling the difference in the diameter makes no difference at all.  Which is probably true even with the 40 pound test that ST uses.

I went to a seminar this spring put on by a guide who bases out of the Lake of the Woods and does some TV fishing show.  I can't recall his name.  But what they do to find lake trout in a new lake was troll Rapalas which dive to about 20 feet.  They would troll fast and use 80 pound test.  When they found trout they would fish with jigs or spoons.