Amazed at how often so folks are changing brake pads!
On the -9A, I almost never use the brakes while turning on the ground -- full rudder deflection and planning ahead make the brakes mostly unnecessary. Same when I had the -8A.
And with tailwheel steering on the -4 and -8, same story.
I did fly with one non-RV CFI and he had no clue that he was on the brakes all the time. Similarly, when I was instructing in spam cans, lots of folks used brakes while taxiing, unneeded and unaware. I have to wonder if the RV folks with high brake wear might be doing the same thing.
I also wonder if cracked pads are because the rivets were too tight. I used to use a tool that used a hammer, but I now have a rivet tool that screws in to compress the rivets. I've rarely seen a cracked pad when I was changing them, but I did crack one or two from hammering too hard.