Rear shock absorber questions

[nogoodbum]

Hi. A little background first: 2013 SEL, 140K, daily drive includes 5 miles one way [10 total] on county road shared with a lot of dump trucks from local rock quarry, [very few pot holes but asphalt is badly rippled & breaking up in spots], four wheel alignment has been good when checked at 90k & 120k, no noticeable driveability problems; pulling to one side or other, bouncing, or excess body roll [keep in mind I don't drive like I'm in Formula 1 or Baja]. At 125k I started getting a thump or two from rear suspension on right/passenger side during low speed breaking. Sounded akin to a rubber-headed hammer hitting an old chrome bumper or other solid metal object. No noticeable vibration felt just noise. I was thinking it may be the start of a shock sticking & was looking into replacing both rears when the sway bar end links symphony began.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Now that those have been replaced & quieted down, back the shocks. With my limited knowledge & on-line research, the only up-grade over OE was the KYB Gas-Adjust that I could find. ? Are there other that will work without any modification & have anyone used the KYB's with good or bad results? Also during my research I saw steel shock mounts that are supposed to cure a potential problem with OE aluminum cracking. Since I can't determine condition without disassembly, has anyone seen or heard of this problem before?                                                                                                                               THANKS for any thoughts or answers on this & sorry for the long read.