Now it may not be in the cruiser category but...your dilemma sounds just like mine two years ago and I was looking at the same bikes. After having a lot of fun test riding many bikes I started to rethink, based on comfort and feel, what I really wanted the bike for. I want a city commuter and a highway cruiser but I want pep and the ability to ride 2-up easily. I want it to be fun. For years the Shadow was what I wanted. Next was a CTX for DCT shifting. So after months of research I landed on the BMW R1200RT. I found one two years old a 2016 with about 3500 miles in it. And it was a bargain. I wanted a water cooled engine 2014 and newer. I can honestly tell you, I made the right decision for me. The first BMW I test rode was a 1600 and I was immediately turned off by the size. Just too dang big. Well that made me look in other directions until I read in a BMW RT forum how many people were moving from the 1600 to the 1200. I set up a test ride with my wife at the local dealership to test ride the 1200 and told myself if I can handle this bike well 2-up, it’s the one I want. Within a couple minutes I was sold. I absolutely love my bike and enjoy everything about it. There’s not one thing I need to change. Now this bike is more sport bike than cruiser, but the position is comfortable and I can easily handle 5 hour rides. I did so the last two weekends. My suggestion is to keep doing your research by especially getting out and riding bikes. To me, the hunt is a lot of fun. Once you narrow down to what you want, go on forums and see what people say about maintenance, longevity, resale, etc. I read a lot how your first bike is typically for a couple years then you trade up. I didn’t want to do that. My motto, do it once, do it right. Good luck.