No research, but will chime in with a coupe of producers I have had the pleasure to sit in:
Isringhausen, great seats, go for the best air suspended models. I found the standard model to have a bit less side support.
http://www.isriusa.com/en/products/aftermarket/premium-6860881.html
Grammer. Great, superb, fantastic seat for my body (long and thin, with a bit of extra padding in the middle section.) These have everything including climatic control:
http://www.grammer.co.uk/Kingman-Klima.html The ones I have in my Atego look like a cheaper variant of these without armrests:
http://www.grammer.co.uk/Kingman-High-Performance.html
For me the main benefit of an air suspended seat apart from easy operation, is that your legs have motion along the knee and underside of the thigh while you drive. This gives the muscles and blood vessels some relief on long driving days by providing slightly varying pressure points allowing better circulation. I get a lot less discomfort in my legs when in the Grammer air suspended seats than when I'm in my other cars. The Grammer gives the option to set how firm the motion of the seat should be, so you can have very little suspension movement, or a lot, depending on your own preference.
On the topic of vinyl/leather vs. textile I think these are the major pro/cons:
Vinyl/leather: easier to clean (if you do it right away). Leather looks better and better with use. Not so good at breathing.
Textile: breathes better, carries away moisture. No creaking noises (better to take a 5 minute nap in but not so essential if you have a bed in the back as an RV, but for truckers without beds this may be important). Looks poorer with extended use, but easily remedied with a protective cover. Mercedes provided a sewn-to-fit cover for my grammer seats in varying colors, as well as for my isringhausen "standard" middle seat, all in matching looks. They fit great and do not slide around if mounted properly (there are velcro attatchments through the seat cusion and around the back.
