The Blur and Palamino are two different suspension designs. The Blur has an extra pivot and (I'm going off of other people's experiences here) when you stand and pedal, the extra force stiffens up the rear end.

The Palomino is designed after the Maverick ML7. If you're interested in suspension design and really pretty looking bikes check out http://maverickamerican.com There's a good explanation on their suspension design. They also have a phenomenal lightweight 6" XC fork!

If you're so inclined to be concerned about different fork heights, they also have an Excel spreadsheet with all the height measurements for all the modern forks.

Yes, the Blur has had some issue with pivots and bearings wearing quickly (i.e. 1 year of really hard use) and Santa Cruz has excellent service and are working on remedying that issue.

The Superlight would be the least attractive as far as suspension designs go between these three. Although, the Superlight has been refined enough that pivot wear isn't a major issue, ride performance is a worthy consideration. Typical of the single pivot is brake jack or rear end stiffening. This really scared me when i was riding b/c I coud feel the back end skip over the rocks and roots and the wheel lost traction. Many people don't notice this though or have just learned to live with it. I probably would have too but until you try something with a better design, specifically a Horst link, ignorance is bliss

Some people also claim that the VPP design (i.e.Blur) also has the rear end stiffening. I don't know if they were just looking for something to nitpick or if its a valid concern but I would love to try one out just to see how it rides.

Just to whet your appetite, here are some real life pictures of the Blur http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=74 Fun stuff!