You'll see lots of pros using road shoes for IM races, prioritizing comfort over saving a few seconds in T1. As for brands, it really depends what fits you (ex. I do well in Sidi but not in Bont even though both are top brands). The Shimano shoes seem to get lots of plaudits, and they have a wide line, so are a good place to start.

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I used to like the Speciailised S-works, but then about 5 years ago they changed and it agrevated my achilles. So back to the Shimano S-phyre which are good for me as available in wide fitting.

Note these are all the road versions, not tri as IM race rules preclude the quick mounts where the velcro straps of tri shoes come into play.

I am a big fan of Bont, but some people hate them.

Most of the tri shoes use the same last and sole of the road variants. Comfort won't be any different and its just a matter of preference.

I've found LG and Gaerne to be the most comfortable. Bont the least comfortable. But this depends 100% on foot shape so this thread won't be very useful.

Most comfortable shoes I have owned are Nimbl Feat.