The interactions of FeBr2, CoBr2, NiBr2, and ZnBr2 with Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, CH4, and N-2 matrices have been investigated using IR, electronic absorption, and X-ray absorption spectroscopies as well as DFT calculations. ZnBr2 is linear in all of the matrices. NiBr2 is linear in all but N-2 matrices, where it is severely bent. For FeBr2 and CoBr2 there is a more gradual change, with evidence of nonlinearity in Xe and CH4 matrices as well as N-2. In the N-2 matrices, the presence of nu(NN) modes blue-shifted from the "free" N-2 values indicates the presence of physisorbed species, and the magnitude of the blue shift correlates with the shift in the nu(3) mode of the metal dibromide. In the case of NiCl2 and NiBr2, chemisorbed species are formed after photolysis, but only if deposition takes place below 10 K. There was no evidence for chemisorbed species for NiF2 and FeBr2, and in the case of CoBr2 the evidence was not strong.