UncleSam1776,
I carry the (relatively) new Surefire E2D LED Defender. So far I have been absolutely blown away by its performance. Extraordinarily bright with a quick tap of the button, great beam focus (tight central beam with wide peripheral illumination), compact and lightweight enough that I forget I've got it in my pocket, and of course fits great it a fist and the crenelated bezel should make for a great self defense tool, if it ever comes to that.
I use it for work a lot, but of course the real reason I spent $140 on it is to illuminate potential threats in the dark, so I can decide if I need to shoot them or not. Certainly more than bright enough to temporarily blind an opponent.
I used to carry an Inova X5, which was plenty bright, but had a tendency to turn on in my pocket and burn through its batteries without me noticing. When I'd go for it later, no juice (or very low). It also had a noticeably bluish beam, while the Surefire is bright white. Finally I lost it and replaced it with the excellent Surefire, I'll be buying their flashlights for the rest of my life now.
My only complaint about the Surefire E2D LED Defender is that, while the 5 lumen "dim" mode is fantastic (about as bright as a "normal" flashlight, great for basic in the dark navigation), it means you can't strobe the flashlight effectively by tapping the rear button, as tapping it alternates 5/120 lumens. Not a huge deal, and I can't think of a way around it that wouldn't cause other interface problems, so I'll forgive them. The alternative is to buy one of Surefire's lights with a rotating ring by the reflector that allows you to "dial-a-brightness", but those start in the $200 range and I wasn't up to it. Plus, of course, when you turn the flashlight on it won't default to maximum output like the E2D, so I'm happy with the one I bought.
Another note is that the crenelated "muzzle" end of the flashlight, while excellent for its intended purpose (hurting people trying to hurt you), is sharp enough to gouge most plastics, etc. I stored the light in my pocket, clipped in place with the reflector end protruding, for a day and have four long gouges in the plastic by my driver's side door to prove it. Now I store it all the way in the pocket, "muzzle" down.