Need advice on shower & tub faucet fixture update

I have some 45+ y/o 1 BR apartments that I'm beginning to changing out existing Price-Pfister 3 handle shower & tub faucets with old 1/2" IP to "newer" single handle anti-scald fixtures using copper. I would like to be able to select a basic shower & tub faucet unit between AS, Delta, PP, Kohler and Moen commonly found at my local HD, Lowe's or OSH.
When I began checking the price of the single valve replacement cost ranged from $12 to $60 with varying degrees of difficulty to repair and replace. Now I'm wondering if I'm violating the "kiss rule" or "keep it simple stupid" by upgrading? I would like to get some feedback pro and con on this and the different faucet brands mentioned?? Thanks for reading!

I think a lot of the plumbers are going with Delta.

I like their tub spouts too.

You'll find that Delta will cost you more than what you were looking at previously. At the big box stores the Delta 1300/1400 series in the classic trim starts at ~$80. The nice thing about the valve with the monitor or pressure balancing is that you don't get any surprises if somebody flushes the toilet or something like that. Pressure might drop, but you don't get that major change in temperature.

faucet

The first question would be, "what kind of faucets are you getting for $12.00 to $60.00?" In some cases that would not even buy the handle. I assume you must be doing some degree of remodeling, because changing a steel pipe installed valve CANNOT be done through a small hole in the wall.

hj said:

The first question would be, "what kind of faucets are you getting for $12.00 to $60.00?" In some cases that would not even buy the handle. I assume you must be doing some degree of remodeling, because changing a steel pipe installed valve CANNOT be done through a small hole in the wall.

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These were the prices for the "replacement valves" for the various American Standard, Delta, Moen, Price-Pfister, etc. for basic tub & shower faucet sets around $100 found at Home Depot, Lowe's or OSH. My licensed plumber does not care what brand I use and I was wondering if commercial grade fixtures (ie Las Vegas hotel baths) are any better for the money? I have demo'ed the tub, tile surround & bath sub-floor. The plumber is upgrading the IP drains to ABS & I bought Delta for the tub & shower faucet sets.
Thanks everyone for reading and your comments!