Ben,
I'd say yes, it is a better reel than the Dogfight.
The drag is better straight out of the box since they use carbon friction washers.
Also, the new magnetic sealing that they use for the main shaft makes the reel feel far less hard to wind as well, since the main shaft isn't sliding up and down through a rubber ring anymore. There is less resistance.
I played with a few on Sunday arvo while trying out some new Carpenter rods and they were quite nice.
Cheers,
Aaron.