I have gotten and will get again totally separate controls. Grohe. You actually change the temp more than you think though or at least we do. Sometimes you feel chilly and want it a little warmy. Other times - summer or after exercise - you want it colder. Then of course different people want different things which may not be an issue for you.

Personally, I don't know why there are so few options because separate temp and volume is awesome. We don't have it in our rental and you tend to shoot high because a little warm is better than a little cold. Wastes some energy. And for my wife contributes to drier skin - at least that is her theory.

Totally separate is expensive of course but last I looked, I didn't like the ergonomics of the combined. Delta is not junk. I think outside of Price Pfister and the really budget brands, the mid range is very reliable. And reliable is what you want. In our last house, we had some of most brands and only the Grohe was trouble - but it was the kitchen. Danze got replaced for feel. At a rental, I did have to replace a shower cartridge of Moen.

Shower cartridges are actually not that big of a deal to change out. The casing (I believe that is what you call it) is solid brass and has no moving parts to fail. Leaks would be install problem or initial defect. Initial defect would be bad but after that, shouldn't happen. The cartridge is easy enough to change out - I have an outdoor delta that I take out every winter.

Thanks David, I did consider separates (and am still). I know Axor has one sold as a separate but it's just under $2k. They don't make the separates easy to lookup either. It's a good suggestion though. It looks like it comes down to the extra cost of a volume trim and rough as the temperature valve is about the same cost of the all-in-one pieces.

It also gets rid of the crowding problem I see in the all-in-one's. They have one big lever and the others are tiny. The Delta/Brizo temp settings look a little in the way of the volume setting. I assume the temp valves can deal with having the volume downstream well enough. So on the temp valve, do you just get the pressure balanced model or thermostatic ?

Thermostatic

Like David Cary suggested I am going with thermostatic valves (from Kallista).

Thermostatic here too.

I used thermostatic valves from several companies: WaterDecor, Newport Brass, Zucchetti, LaCava. All of mine have separate temperature control and volume control.

Separate volume and temperature is great. We had 2 Delta sets for 16 years in our last home. In that time a temperature cartridge failed twice. I called Delta and they sent a free replacement within 2 days, no questions. The white fixtures did yellow a bit so recommend "metal". I recommend Delta and will put them in our next home. Good value.

No complaint against Delta but they all send replacement parts out without much proof of anything for free (pics if trim yellow so Abby, you should try that). Moen was terrible to get on the phone though, 1.5 hour wait or a scheduled call back. My scheduled call back was 3 days later. Grohe and Delta have been great although Grohe decided to shut down their distribution system for a week in late September and I was trying to fix something before closing. No parts in stock locally at all for a Ladylux Cafe - probably their best selling item in history.

I've had separate volume and thermostatic valves (Grohe) for 20 years. Love it. We have 2 shower heads and body sprays (will not do that again) that can be turned on independently. I have found all my Grohe fixtures to be high quality and reliable. And easy to find parts for! (i.e. changing out the hose or spray head in the kitchen)