Faster than Time Machine for Backup I want to do a full backup of my Mac to an external disk AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.  Does that mean I should use something other than Time Machine or set some settings?
It depends on what your full usage scenario is. For a one-off full image Time Machine is not very well suited, you are better of with using


the disk imaging functionality in Disk Utility
SuperDuper
Carbon Copy Cloner


If you are looking for having a full image of your drive updated regularly, fast and hassle-free, Time Machine is a good way to do that. The initial backup will just take a while longer, the incremental ones will be rather fast.