I guess it depends on how you define "good" brakes... yes the S2 will stop with no problems at all if you mash the middle pedal, but what I look for from a braking system is consistent linear response to pedal pressure with good initial bite. That's what the S2 lacks, and it makes heel and toe braking almost impossible.

In terms of speaking from experience, I've driven a mark 4 XR3i, a mark 2 Orion 1.6i and a mark 5 RS2000 and ALL of them had better brakes (according to my definition above) than the S2, again I refer to my comment above regarding the ABS system.