I've had 3 of the Minn Kota PD series trolling motors. The pedals, as mentioned, break regularly. I've been through at least 5 pedals. They seem to last about 2 years for me.

When the boards crack in the pedal you can sometimes get more life out of them by spraying the board with WD-40. This helps the electrical connections which are being interfered with and damaged by water/rust.

As much as I hate how those pedals break, they are fantastic for jon boats because like John mentioned you can put them anywhere in the boat and stand flat-footed on them. In spring I'll put mine right on the edge of the tip of the bow. For trolling I'll put it on the floor in the back. It's nice.

When I need to make a quick turn I just reach down and turn the head of my motor with my hand. I'd rather deal with that than try to balance on a Motorguide pedal. My boat is pretty tippy.

I don't think there's a perfect answer to this dilemma on trolling motors. Either brand has tradeoffs.