Dear atlantarange
I empathize with you, but I learned to love Opti-Bond. I guess the first coat needs time to really soak into the rubber. My first time using it went just like you described, but afterward I put on a heavy coat, let the vehicle sit for a day or two, and wiped off the excess immediately before driving the vehicle. Once the dressing got soaked into the rubber well, it lasted for a long time, and subsequent applications were easier and produced lasting results.
I'm a big Opti-Bond fan, but I prefer Blackfire Total Eclipse Tire Gel. It's similar to Opti-Bond, but it seems to darken my tires a bit better and last even longer. I have some of this you can try if you'll drive up to Buford.
Regarding using a brush, you can blot a bit of the dressing directly on the end of the brush, or you can be wild and crazy, like I do, and blot the dressing straight on the sidewall from the bottle and then smooth it in with a brush or other applicator.
You want very, very clean tires before applying any dressing. Use Amazing Rolloff, Zep 505, Tuf Shine tire cleaner, or undiluted Optimum Power Clean to get the faces of those tires perfectly clean. Roshan (ihaveacamaro) heartily recommends Meguiar's D101.
You might also try Mike Phillips's method for cleaning tires, which involves using a gray Cyclo brush attached to a DA polisher. That's what I did yesterday in preparation for applying Tuf Shine today.
I'm waiting for the first application of Tuf Shine to dry as I write this.