While in some cases aftermarket is better than OE, shock inserts are often the exception. Since they are inserts, they often have less throw, lower fluid volume to absorb/disipate heat, smaller valves, and retain more heat due to strut itself acting another layer of insulation.
Some places can rebuild/revalve OE struts if they actually have a threaded housing top. I thnk my dada and I rebuit about a dozen Lancia struts at some point or another. That might be an option.
Just think, if you hadn't sold your JICs, you could use those in your knuckle swap scenario...
