C has better optimization than LLVM because if you generate LLVM IR, you can't compile it with icc or Visual Studio. (Or GCC, but LLVM probably already equals or beats GCC at optimization already.)

You're probably right that LLVM also has better optimization than C because of things like the possibility of doing better aliasing.

I agree that BF is unrepresentative of anything in the real world. Thank goodness.

I can certainly see how debugging support could be better if you can go beyond the support C gives you.