Your assertions force me to leave my comfortable lurking position.

First of all, transparency: I don't have, now or in the past, any financial relationship whatsoever with any maker of browser software. In particular, I don't have partnerships with MS.

IE is a preferred target of malware as well as a generally bad browser.
A quick search brings a few links that make the point:

http://blogs.computerworld.com/18552/12_reasons_not_to_use_internet_explorer_ever

http://www.shlomifish.org/no-ie/

Firefox, Chrome and a few others are good choices for replacement. As far as I know, most sophisticated MS users do not use IE. I have web site statistics that prove it, but I don't want to bother anyone with excessive detail.

Regarding adblock, that's a must-have tool for me, both in Firefox as in Chrome (android included). Not only I'm not distracted by ads, directed or not, but also save energy since most ads include flash or animations that make the CPU work harder. Adblock is not popular with web site publishers, some going to the extent of saying that is inmoral not to watch their ads. You'll be the judge.

Enjoy your navigation.