A good friend of mine was a brake development engineer for several years at one of the big three. He was the main guy who brought the 'vette brakes to the Mustang.
You can't believe how many factors they look at when evaluating pad compounds. I can list a lot of them, but this post would get too long and I'm not sure anyone cares.
The pads *all* have tradeoffs. There is no perfect pad. Your personal preferences mean that you may want a very different pad than the next forum member.
My buddy still likes the same pads I do for the street and track - Performance Friction 90 compound. The dust is grey in color, so it isn't too bad. They make more dust when cold than when hot. They wear faster on the street than the track. Minimal rotor wear. Good feel.
With big slicks on a heavy braking road course and seriously hard driving, I tend to prefer the 93 compound (I believe that's what the CART guys are still running). But they are not for the street - they tend to crack when used at low temps and would probably wear quickly at low temps, and they were pricey last time I bought them. But man, do they ever get it done on the track!
I agree with their decision to put the dusty, but more effective, pads on the 2002 Z. This is the performance flagship, and brake performance should take priority over brake dust. Wear that dust like a badge of honor

The 2001 Z already out-brakes the flagship Porsche - I wonder how the 2002 does, numbers-wise?
When I spoke with my buddy yesterday, he related that the current 'vette calipers are awesome. His source says they aren't much short of the super pricey brembo/AP calipers.
I can't wait to get my car and start playing with the brakes. But since I want to keep the car stock for Solo II, the temptation and challenge to try and do a sanely priced 14" rotor setup is going to be tough to resist. Having a lathe and a CNC mill in the garage does not make resisting any easier.