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Second, pretty much everyone who doesn't like the EVA method has the same reason; it maximizes firm value, not equity value. I've never heard either of the Berkshire managers talk about their specific reasons, but I would be shocked if this wasn't it.

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Not having heard of EVA before this thread, this immediately jumped out at me as a big problem. One scenario in particular where attempting to maximize the value of the firm as opposed to the value of equity is really really bad for stockholders is when the company is near default/bankruptcy (value of firm ~ debt). In this scenario, equity holders, who see nothing no matter how badly the firm does if value of firm < value of debt, would rather increase variance of the value of the company in the future, even if, in doing so, they lower the expected value of the firm. It would suprise me greatly if there were not smaller diffferences in optimal strategy for maximizing firm value/equity value for different debt/value ratios.