Philips is the leader among these brands ... i have compared specs between GE and Philips for their fluorescent products, and Philips have the upper hand in luminous efficacy ... and yes, although pricier, their lamps tend to last longer.

For CFL exploding, it not unheard of, but it is also rare ... what's more common is simply silent failure ... but when it explodes, it usually the capacitor that does it. The capacitor is constantly subjected to almost 400VDC (form our 230VAC) and lower quality standard could potentially make it a mini-bomb.