I don't like Brandish series, but I can give some opinions on what to choose, based on status :
- first, remember the status can only be inflicted on charge attack, so oilers/freezing cubs/quicksilvers are a non-issue. Also, if you don't use the charge attack, which one you choose is a non-issue.

Then :
- Combuster doesn't work in FSC. Seeing that's the place where you really need an elemental sword and the most difficult one, I would forget about it.
- Glacius is redudant with Shivermist, which do the freezing job way better, and is almost always present in a FSC run, I would not get it either, except if you don't have anyone with Shivermist.
- Voltedge provide some additional damage, a nice interrupt, and doesn't hinder Shivermist too much. Also, Voltaic Tempest is kinda rare, so it's not redundant. I would probably go for this one.

Combuster: good for partying w/ ppl ( fire doesnt hinder party, just adds on the damage)
Voltedge: good for PvP ( shock is very effective here)
Glacius: good for soloing ( freeze= crowd control, thus you freeze, run, thaw, repeat)

Interesting. What would you folks recommend if you're "duoing" with a team-mate who already has a Shockburst blade? Also, I understand how a Combuster's Charge attack is less useful on Fire-type-resistant targets as the Fire status could be useless (or less than useless in the case of Oilers), but would it still deal the same amount of Damage solely from the attack?

I've rarely seen an enemy be "impeded" by shock that wasn't a kat or a mecha knight. It's horribly weak compared to when a player gets hit with it.
Glacius is great if you can get your teammates to not use wimpy attacks to break the freeze every time.
Combuster is great except in FSC, just be warned, but that's not extremely important, after all there are other gates.

Just remember that unlike the bombs, these have STRONG status effects. They do far more damage in exchange for smaller AOE, and they only have the effect on a charge.

@Espeonage
I'll admit, yes facts can be helpful (And after re-reading my post, I realize I came off a bit harsher than intended). I just kinda expected a more definite "I like X better than Y because of Z" type response.

I'd say the Voltedge is probably the most versatile of the range, because it can be extremely useful in PvP and is incredibly handy against densely-packed mobs. The Glacius is a decent crowd-control tool, but the Shivermist series does the same job much, much more effectively, and using the Glacius freeze effect to immobilise Vanaduke is just madness; far too much going on in that fight to be messing around with focused charge attacks.

I don't know what Batabii is talking about, the glacius has the highest crowd control of all three.

Now, I have all the brandish lines so I may be able to give a helpful opinion.

I'll start with the combuster. This one is great for pretty much any occasion where the monsters take neutral or higher damage. I'm assuming that people use the charge attacks on brandishes frequently, so setting a mob aflame makes the job a whole lot quicker, especially if you are solo. For me, I find this one most effective against most constructs, especially lumbers because you can sneak up behind them, set em on fire and walk away, like a boss. Overall, this one is best if you like mobs to take damage while you kite and use more charge attacks for a quick job.

Now onto the glacius. This has the best crowd control, as it freezes your enemies in place, leaving you free to ready another charge attack. This means that this sword is suited well for a defensive playstyle that likes having extra time, be it to ready other attacks or heal, etc. As for those that say oh it's bad because teammates break the ice early or it takes a while for it to thaw to actually deal some damage: you should probably be following up that initial charge attack with another anyways and killing the monsters before they thaw. Following up with another charge refreezes anyways, so no big loss. I love this sword for kats, if there are a bunch of them and you can get them to all charge a single spot, you can move and freeze them all, makes for quick kills. Also, this is good for the swordsman that can get somewhat of a jump on puppies, because you can freeze it and take care of monsters behind it/them or finish it off quickly. Again, this is more of a defensive status sword.

Lastly, the voltedge. This sword gets both a bit of crowd control, while still providing a bit of damage, and who doesn't like that? This is my choice sword for fsc, it works wonders on the zombies and I'll tell you why I prefer it over glacius. When frozen, the zombies can still use their fire breath, and sometimes that can last quite a while, until they either stop on their own, or you whack em. Well, when you inflict shock, it pretty much whacks them for you, so if they can even start puking fire, they are interrupted and it does not last very long. With a brandish, it's ideal to have the monsters clump together, and the zombies in fsc make that pretty easy. Once you send a shock wave through them, they can either pass the shock on to others, or when they get shocked, the zombies touching it take damage as well. Yes there is a chance you can shock yourself if you touch the afflicted monster, but if you get shocked, you're doing it wrong. This sword takes a bit of grinding to get the recipes, but they are essentially free if you don't keep losing at pvp. This sword combines the first two to give you decent crowd control while damaging, so this is suitable anywhere in place of the others.

Tips, tricks, and info.

-All the brands do the same exact damage, swings and explosions. The only difference is the status inflicted, so basically choose on what status you like.
-Spam the charge attack. For glacius, don't freeze and then come back swinging unless you know you can kill the monster in two swings, or know you can land that last hit as to interrupt their attack.
-Unlike the sealed sword lines, you can run full speed while holding the charge
-The charge thrusts you forward about one square, so you don't need to be super super close for the charge swing to hit
-When you unleash a charge, you can immediately swing twice. This is extremely effective, as it treats the charge swing as the first swing of a normal combo, then the two swings after do greater damage than a normal combo.
-Clump your enemies for the highest charge area of effect/effectiveness. If you've got lame teammates spamming Levi charges, pulsar crap, or placing nitronomes, be like ey /rude (insert lame-o name here)
-The total combo damage is higher than the sealed sword line's combo
-You can use the good wolver lines instead of vog (hehe)

That just about covers it I think, or at least that's all before I say that these man swords are better than the very noob avenger..ooooooohhhhh ;)

If I have the Voltaic Tempest do you guys think its worth having a Voltedge or should I just go for the Combuster?

Having used all three 5* elemental brandish swords extensively in multiple stratums, ultimately they're really more or less the same in most situations (yes, even in FSC, as many have pointed out). The charge is the only difference really, and even then relatively minor unless you're already experienced with your sword already, and you end up molding your playstyle of the Brandish with the sword's charge special ability.

If anything, the further debate really has to do with acquisition of recipes: do you want them through Basil/Auction-House/Trading, or through Krogmo coins?

But here's the real way you can just determine which sword is good for you:
1) Glacius: Charge freezes sometimes, and you like the color blue.
2) Combuster: Charge has slightly more DPS, and you like the color red.
3) Voltedge: You like to play blast network and/or lockdown a lot.