First time having manual brakes, are mine bad?

You really need to break in the new disc pads properly to avoid glazing. They aren't just "throw them in and go". Yours could be glazed, or a caliper piston could be frozen.

I have two K-H disc A-bodies, both with manual brakes. One has the 1-1/32" and the other has the 15/16" MC. There is a difference in pedal effort, but there isn't a difference in stopping power. Both also have slotted cross-drilled rotors, but that is because I like to take them on winding roads up in the Sierra and Siskiyous. Not really needed for a cruiser. They don't affect normal stops, they just help dissipate heat when you are really hitting the brakes hard over a period of time, like a track day or a 9% grade.