Try not to connotate fire to elemental damage, as fire is actually pure normal type. Combuster would be equally strong even if it was just a statusless version of the Brandish.
But aye; the thing with Combuster (in or out of FSC) is that fire doesn't interrupt (anything but charge timers anyways /bomber) so they ride the brandishbombs all the way, while Volty and Glacy stop them.
Glacius is my Brandish of choice, personally. But then again, I've had it since before the Brandish buff, and used it to synchronise with my shivermis (max:max bombs and vh sword damage = perm shiverlock+glacius charge combo) which let me play for damage and safety as a bomber. Combuster never appealed to me because I got it specifically for that, and fire would only serve to hinder my freezelocking ploys.
Never really cared to make another brandish since D:

As for Pepperbox...it's a matter of perspective really. It seems UP, but only because it invariably gets compared to Blitz, which is the most OP weapon in the game. Everything is UP next to it. But put the blinders on for a minute and remember that the Shottoguns have the highest damage output in the game; that is to say that Pepperbox has a pretty absurd amount of damage in its own right, capable of reaching the thousands as well as stacking fire onto everything it hits (which adds hundreds more to the total). When I say that Blitz outdamages it on the mask, I do mean barely. It is, technically, higher than Pepperbox, but not by any large margin.
Also, its normal damage is more of a benefit than problem. Other normal weapons suffer because they come off weaker, but since the Pepperbox hits so damn hard to begin with, the normal type basically just means there's never a situation where it's weak; unlike blitz. That is to say that constructs and slimes are as vulnerable as anything else, and very certainly one-hittable (although Trojans stop being ohko in 3~4man parties, but not by a huge margin or anythin'). Pepperbox is also one of the few weapons that can readily and verye capably kill every boss in the game due to that very fact....and the fire is just the molten cherry on top. Oh, I do love the fire.

Nah; Blitz is the only example of a weapon that trades status for damage and is actually worth it (with horrifying overkill, at that with some 150% increase). Every other weapon trades off the statuses for a mere 15~20% bonus, which actually works out at a fairly worthless bonus. Nova, for example, won't kill anything any faster than any of the other elemental Alchs, and more often than not it'll actually come out worse off due to lack of interrupting/helpful status effects. And in the case of Magma, the fire ticks actually vastly outdamage the difference in base damage.

And never understood why they did it myself either. The brandishes were capable of giving random amounts of explosions so made it a bit more exciting, but were certainly still capable of playing effectively in game. Like in my example, I could always still refreeze groups of shivvered enemies, despite only having 2~3 explosions on average. Giving them a set rate of five 'splosions was just total, pointless overkill serving to do little more than turn Brandishes into LD offscreen sniping swords and one of the few weapons that's capable of one-hitting someone.
Basically achieved nothing in the CW other than to send enemies a bit farther.

why did you bump this

Sorry, didn't realize this was a necro.

That is all the more necro needed here

Welcoming the trolls, with cake.

They nerfed DR.