thanks tho I'm in Europe. Luckily I found a source for the genuine V2 Avids near me, will shell out for those I think.

The JTek Shiftmade Zero is currently in production too, for 30€.

if you are inclined to do so, exercising your foot can actually help with that. most people would benefit exercises for long and short extensors of the foot, also tibialis posterior. might be worth checking with a qualified therapist. also if you opt for insoles, they should be fitted by someone who actually looks at your gait, worst case random insoles can cause additional problems.

It is done in Europe, vin numbers on bikes are mandatory where I live.
Bikes still get stolen left and right

Only real benefit is that if you report bike stolen, they can check if it is found somewhere.
And if they catch thief red handed, there is evidence. Rarely happens.

actually police stopped offering these codings in my country cause they're ineffective.