He rides in lots of soft terrain and sand in addition to places with rocks. He also has an IRC M5B and he's not happy with the performance.
I think for his overall riding, a soft terrain tire is the best compromise.
I ride in areas that are a mix of rocky trails and soft terrain, and the 756 and the S12 perform great for those conditions, IMO.
As for knob shredding, well, no tire is immune from that. IMO, much depends on the power delivery of the bike and the style of the rider. Smooth on the throttle and smooth power deliver = less knob shredding in the rocks.