I live i the country and drive alot on unlit, dark country roads. I tried a variety of so called 'brighter' bulbs or 'performance' bulbs in my last car and all of them made no difference whatsoever in my experience other that give a nicer look white glow or blue glow depending on the type. In terms of lighting up the road, they were all the same. The thing I did notice however was that none of them lasted very well. Also they all cost silly money compared with a standard bulb!
In the end I went back to running standard bulbs on my last car.
Have to say, I find the standard headlights in my Cee'd a million times better than my old car - they light up much further into the distance and the road ahead.
You can of course buy fancy bulbs and try and convince yourself they are somehow better, but if you want my opinion, don't waste your money!