As it's already been pointed out, being brand loyal doesn't guarantee anything. I've had great Berkley rods and I've also handled some horrible ones. In my personal experience Quantum doesn't make the strongest rods, especially if we're talking ultra lights. I've had a few tips bust off Quantums, they broke way too easily! There's a fine line between needing brute strength and desiring a light weight easy handling rod for all day casting. Find a nice middle of the road rod with high quality Hardalloy guides, I avoid aluminum oxide and steel because they nick up easily. I never liked any of the the Lightnining rods with the all steel guides, the camo Hunter series was ok. Berkley Airs are nice, with Berkley you just gotta get one with Hardalloy guides. They're usually strong and have good actions. The BPS Extreme line is outstanding, extremely strong and light weight. For bass you need a stout rod with some backbone for setting those big hooks, so I will never recommend any fiberglass or even fiberglass composite rods. Don't use anything rated lower than Medium Action, unless you're wanting to throw UL lures on 4lb line. But for most pond bass fishing techniques, you want a stiff rod for jerking n' twitching medium size lures.
The longer the better, a 7'0" medium action will handle most lures, and really shines in the topwater department. Unless you have lots of trees on the bank then dropping to a 6'0" length will be better. For topwater you really don't want to go shorter than 6'6" or lower than 14lb test monofilament, you need the length if you're walking the dog and the low stretch float that 14 mono gives. And you don't want to lose a monster bucketmouth because your buggy whip fiberglass rod couldn't bury the hook. A long rod moves line quicker and makes setting hooks easier. When you go rod shopping, give the rod a hard flick, see how long it takes for the tip to stop moving, a fast recovering tip is nice to have. Leave the wobbly noodle rods for the powerbait rig trout fisherman. If all you can find is a whippy rod, spool up with some low stretch fluorocarbon or copolymer, skip the rubberband action monofilament line. Lots of the time the bass will be lure wise, if they're in a lake that receives hard fishing pressure they learn to light strike. They'll swim up n' just get a quick taste, if they feel the hooks they let go fast. With some higher end rods, you can get the strength, light weight and small diameter with a fast responsive but not stiff tip action. The BPS Extreme medium heavy 6'0" 1pc trigger rod is one of the best bass rods out there - I'd imagine their spinning rods are just as nice. Ugly Stiks are ok if you are fishing heavy cover or planning to catch huge fish with heavy lures, or trolling from a boat, and don't mind the weight and whippy action. Bass fishing is constant casting, which requires light weight and strength, along with a nice tip action. Shakespeare's economy line can be decent, I don't know about now, but a few years ago their Intrepid and Excursion line had some decent IM6 baitcast rods. I only handled the 2pc 5'6" pistol grip model Excursion, it wasn't bad for only $15. The Intrepid 6'0" med action 1pc trigger rod was nicer, it had better guides on it. Shimano's Scimitar line is well made and features Hardalloy guides.