Well, my problems with brakes have turned out to be not an issue with pad longevity at all -- see the following picture:
Note how the one pad is excessively "toe-in" worn.
Here's a picture of the brakes they came off of, with the parts labeled as far as I know them (with the new pads I just put on...):
(Erm.. that should say "Centering Adjustment Screw" ... hooray for tpyos!)
I don't see any way to change if the pads are toed in or toed out... how can I fix this (is it even possible?) ?