Hi Jordan, Thanks for the post and the brake job video (Tim's). This and long chat with Tom actually made me checking rear brakes on my 95 Tacoma (318k miles on original rear brakes).
Here is the picture what I found after I removed the brake drum for the first time
And the same image after I used the whole bottle of brake pads cleaner on it
For your enjoyment here is the pad thickness in all 6 locations.
This is the living proof of your statements:
1. Front pad is used much more than the rear pad. I think this is because the top of the front pad (leading edge when wheel is rolling forward) is grabbed by the drum and pushed down increasing the braking force on the pad. The rear pad's "leading edge" is close to pivoting point so the pad is pushed away from the drum therefore braking force there is much smaller.
2. The most wear on the front pad is on the center part of the pad then the bottom (trailing edge). The rear pad because it is almost not worn at all it shows the most wear on the top part (the trailing edge) and the center. I'm sure that after next 300k miles my front pad will show almost no material left, and the rear pad will have the most wear at the center and at the top.
I think you are right on the spot with the "sliding force" theory. Front and rear pads wear pattern confirm that. Your post let me worry less about the big difference between wear pattern of front and rear shoe. I was worried that there is something wrong with my rear brakes but after reading this I'm sure it is normal. I am good for next 300k miles.