from his article called : Some thoughts on the ESV and Bible translation
:"Unfortunately,ESV promoters sometimes demonize the NIV. They accuse the NIV of following a faulty translation method and of distorting the Word of God when it is freerer than the ESV. In reality,however,the ESV and NIV follow similiar methods,only the NIV pursues functional equivalence and inclusive language more consistently and to a greater degree." (p.18)
"It is linguistically naive to say that one can translate without inserting interpretation,or that interpretation needs to be inserted only rarely. Regularly,on every page,just to put something on paper,a translator has to make interpretive decisions. This includes translators who are producing an eseentially literal translation." (p.11)
"Next,if one works at all with the ESV and the original languages,one can find many examples where the ESV does not translate literally,and no footnote is added. I am not critical of the way the ESV translates in these cases,because they are properly trying to bring over the meaning for contemporary readers. It's just that they are not really doing what they promised to do." (8)
which tends the support the accepted truth that among translation, the Nasb is "most literal" then the Esv then the Niv!
NOT saying which is best, just that is how thiose would list in a chart for "literalness"