[Closed] Comfort road bikes & crossers.

Being a fan of comfort and somewhat adverse to pain, I like the sound of these bikes. However salesmen’s hype is one thing and real experiences are another.
I’ve heard of (in no particular order) Cannondale Synapse, Giant Defy, Spesh Secteur, Trek Domane. I note that the Trek even has a minimal suspension/flex design feature and I followed Rocketdog’s link to reviews of Domane and Madone. What do you think of these and are any of you particularly impressed with offerings from other manufacturers?
I’m also wondering (assuming you’re not too competitive) whether you’d suffer serious disadvantages by choosing a cyclo-cross bike instead of a comfort road bike. I think we’d agreed you need wider, tougher tyres to ride down a bridleway or similar unmade road, so are there comfort road bikes out there with clearances for 28 and 32c tyres? Have any of you ridden both ‘crossers’ and road bikes on sportives – how did you feel they compared?
Let’s hear your experiences, opinions, and have your links to reviews.
Cheers, Tim