Quo brushes are ok....definitely not better than MAC brushes, imo. I have a few Quo and Lise Watier brushes I got from the drugstore, but some of them are scratchy or just don't pick up enough e/s from the pan. They are ok to get started though.
I think pretty much all e/s from the drugstore are crappy. I think I have tried all of them, at least 1 from each brand, they all sucked and had hardly any pigmentation. Lipglosses I often buy from the d/s though, like Rimmel, L'Oreal, Revlon...