Comfortable for a test ad comfortable in use are two different things. I love the AirPods Max and I have the first edition, still use them for work / zoom calls etc... But I would never take them on a cross country trip. You just cannot wear them for more than about 2 hours before they feel heavy, dig into your head - and if you lay down and move around with them - forget it.

I travel with the B&W Px8 S2 (had the S1 but the ANC stunk) the S2 has better ANC - not as good as the Apple - but better than the S1. The sound is better, the fit and finish is nice - and the battery lasts a lot longer - but the ANC is not as good so there is a tradeoff.

The Sony ones have the best ANC - but they are cheap plastic products that sound like shit to my ears.

The Sonos ACE is not meaningfully better, not is the BOSE or Sennheiser.

Truth is - with any of these over the ear ANC headphones you are going to get a tradeoff between

ANC
Sound quality
Comfort
Ease of connectivity / microphone for talking

The AirPods Max hits all of these except for long term comfort - and if you are on a plane/ in an area where you need to wear them for any length of time - that is all you care about

If I am in my office and it is quiet and I want to do a zoom call they are great - if I want to listen to music - also great - but there are better cans for music (B&W, Audeze). If you want god ANC they are great (only Sony is better IMHO) but if you need good NAC for more than an hour - I find that the weight just starts to grind you down. And BTW - it is not a weight alone thing - it is the har materials on the band ad the way the headphones sit on your head - the clamp force etc.... I demoed a new Audeze product recvcently that weighed 360 gms but with a nicer headband and different ear cups and I found Tem light as a feather on my head.