Mk 4 1997 brakes

[A2B]

Hello, I am new to this forum and have a few questions about mark 4 1997 Fiesta brakes and upgrading brakes.

First off; I know nothing about cars and have no interest in car modification for the sake of aesthetics, safety and efficiency are my only concern. My car is unmodified.

I asked my mechanic a while back if he could put better brakes on my car, he said he could but there wouldn't be any point because the car would need to be heavier for them to make a difference. I can't remember exactly what he said but his arguement centered around weight adding friction against the road. He took my car for a spin and said the brakes were fine. The guy's been a mechanic for ages and he's honest so I just left it at that. A few weeks later I was talking with a mate who has a car of a similar size, (not a Ford), and he said he upgraded his brakes from the standard factory fit and it made the world of difference - so that kinda made me think again...

How does your opinion tally with what my mechanic said? This being a Ford forum I guessed I might find people who have upgraded their brakes before. What brakes would I have on my car? Are there different types of brakes? I guess the sky's the limit with regards to price but if it is worth me getting better brakes, what sort of starting price would you recommend? Where do I shop for brakes? Are Ford the only manufacturers or are there 3rd parties that make Fiesta brakes?

There's a million questions I could ask but I'll leave it at that for the minute.

Any help would be much appreciated.