I was a Novak guy like 15 years ago when i got out of the hobby. I still have some of my old 410-M5's sitting around lol.

I bought a b4.1 brushless rtr to get back into the hobby myself. When i replaced the electronics i went with the Novak Havoc 3S/ballistic 13.5 combo. It is pretty solid with some good power.

I then got another Havoc 3S and a 17.5 to run in stock class SCT. I want to say it held its own, but when racing vs the "boosted escs" they would blow me away. Same torque on the bottom so i was side by side in the technical sections, but when it came to the straights the other 17.5s looked like a dang 10.5! They would pull on me like i was standing still!

After some research and giving one a shot I was sold on a Tekin RS. Huge difference!

Basically what this comes down to is I spent my money on two ESCs that had a name on it i was familiar with, only to buy into something later i saw with some more bang and quality. Kinda wish i had some of my dough back on the two esc's i now have sitting in a box...

If you are in it for the long haul I would just go ahead and spend a few more dollars now on something that you know you are going to like.

As far as a recommendation, mine would be with the RS, they really aren't too bad of a price for what you get.