when did you ask?
this is an excellent topic and lesson. thank you for taking the time.
there are many things i consider bolt on and these sort of issues are just par for the course and i feel bad when things i see as trivial are stoppers for the uninitiated.. so i see what your saying.
the clutch lines ect are the same way when your upgrading mazda trans ect...you have to adapt/hybrid stuff to get them to work from square light trucks to the rest of the ghey ones they made after 88, that only sissies would drive..
unless i happen to be driving it...that is different.
pressure, volume and piston area combined with pad area ect ect ect are factors, and highly misunderstood....study these knowns before taking stuff apart.
as you have learned, bigger components being better is not a rule or the case in your case....
even know your brakes are mismatched currently, i am gathering your ok with the performance?...the stock ranger master usually feels weak to me in any case but did stop my one ton brakes ok-ish..even with 44 inch tires. so theres that.
the difference between explorer front and rear brakes and first gen small rear brakes are huge....but you dont need to swap masters.
for those looking to improve braking...looking at fittings is step one if you want to reuse lines or go away from a known system.. they do change even mid model year in many applications depending on options...rear-abs----4 wheel abs----non abs-can use different lines and masters...on any given model even of the same year...say a dodge car application with a known good master...may have 4 masters ...so which one is the good one?? this is knowable ahead of time but takes research.
generally every few years i replace all the lines due to salt so i just build what i need. i know many...hell most people would rather hang themselves then make brake lines....myself included depending on make/model... so wanting a true bolt in solution is definitely worth noting.
my current system is unbalanced...its a gm hydroboost on ford one ton brakes.
and i would describe it as a bolt in. because i bolted it in.
after i made an adapter for the firewall.....to accommodate a carefully reclocked stroke ratio, that was specifically chosen because it would work within the ability of the oem pedal hanger and firewall space..... and made all new custom lines.
but...it was a bolt in.....so was the humvee engine.
....really.!.!
Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and 
Bubble flared lines need bubble flare nuts. This may be common knowledge to many people but I did not know this and I hope to save other people frustration.
