For me it would be the BE. First off it has plenty of gain for my needs and if I need more I hit the front end with a Timmy and it sounds great. Second, the HBE IMO is more compressed and doesn't sound as open as the BE. Not saying the HBE doesn't sound good but like I said, for my needs the BE fits the bill and on top of that it's cheaper.
There is a pretty significant boost in gain when the JBE mod is kicked in (as far as distortion goes, the volume actually drops some). It also has a more modern voicing.