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On a very tangent thought, what if the bulk of braking was accomplished via electric instead of friction?
The battery would absorb what it could from regeneration, and any excess electricity could be sent to a resistive load, cooled by the engine coolant. Each wheel could have its own motor so that regenerative braking could be precisely controlled, and ABS could be accomplished by reducing regen instantly on the wheel that stopped turning. Stability control would also use regen to slow individual wheels to regain control. Naturally the vehicle would be all-wheel-drive. Small friction brakes would activate at slow/stopped speeds and in emergency.
Heck, this design lends itself to a series hybrid configuration with elimination of the traditional transmission/drivetrain. Run a genset at peak efficiency to supply electricity, with a battery/supercap bank acting to smooth the power input/output.
This would allow a truck and enormous load to be safely slowed on very steep and long grades, with no fear of brake fade or wear. Furthermore efficiency would improve since every braking event would recapture some of the energy. Finally, the nearly instant response of electricity would allow more precise control of the vehicle compared with mechanical systems.
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