Battery Indicator never full

If it always fills, you should/can activate B mode from the top, that will keep the friction brakes cooler.

 

If the hill is long enough that you know the battery will fill, use B mode from the top. This will delay the topping of the battery, reducing the amount of time you'll have to use friction brakes or listen to the highest level of engine screaming from compression braking,

While the battery is still filling, I see no problem with riding the brakes in regeneration mode. That puts no (or very little) heat into rotors. It is fairly easy to monitor and stay primarily in regen (not friction) braking in the regular Prius, but I don't know how the 'v' displays are different.

When regen braking is done, or insufficient, I believe one should use the brakes the same as a regular nonhybrid.

As for pulsing vs. riding the brake, I was not taught to pulse, and am having difficult figuring out how that would help. It seems that the vehicle's kinetic energy that gets turned into brake heat is a function of mass and speed change and elevation drop, and should be the same regardless of brake modulation pattern. The only methods I was taught for avoiding brake overheating were (1) downshift to use engine compression braking, shifting some heat away from the brakes and into the engine exhaust, and (2) take a turnout to give the brakes some time to cool before continuing the descent. Pikes Peak even has a mandatory brake checkpoint, where the attendant ordered an F250 not far behind me to pull over into the 30 minute cooling off zone. (FWIW, it had Florida plates.)

My spouse does use brake pulsing, unfortunately including hills short enough that regen could otherwise harvest all the energy. But her pulses far exceed the regen limit, so most of the braking action goes into friction, not battery charge. Perversely, this old method (or myth, in my view) for keeping the brakes cooler is actually causing my Prius brakes to get warmer than necessary, while simultaneously hurting MPG by needlessly throwing away recoverable energy. After four years, I've given up trying to retrain her brake foot for a hybrids.

When regen is no longer available, I see no downside to pulsing, but no upside either.

 

The v has three white bars in a box just under the green bars showing energy use. When you brake, each bar lights up as you press harder. Presumably, if you press harder still, that is friction braking. If you only light 2 bars, it can't be using friction brakes, I work at 'just barely' three bars. (To glide, in Pulse and Glide, try for no bars or just one green bar)

 

Found a good article on braking doing a quick google search: proper way to decend grade

Compares Snub braking(what i'm referring to as "pulse" braking) and controlled braking(riding the brakes).
Liked this part:

I'm pretty sure with ABS,EBD,VSC, yadda yadda the Prius v has near perfect brake balance compared to a big truck with air brakes in questionable condition, so riding the brakes as you say fuzzy1 i'm now convinced is totally fine in the v and hereby determine to repent of my pulse braking ways.

 

^^ Thanks for finding this. I do understand why it is better for those trucks. And it gives me confidence that I wasn't doing anything wrong or missing anything useful on the cars I have driven.