Is brighter always better? YES! :) But that does not mean you have to use max brightness all the time. There is a reason light have several modes...
NW, sometimes warm can be much more pleasant than CW IMO. When it comes to CRI, more is always better. Top bin, which are the brightest emitters are normally low CRI, and Cool white. That normally means cold-bluish white washed out colors.
So when it comes to current, more is better. More is brighter. :)
When it comes to emitters, it depends on the light and type of use.
I use a bunch of different emitters. I think you will find that high output and 80+ CRI are fairly common for a lot of my lights.