It is a personal preference, but I don't equate a bigger heavier tent with more comfort. If I am in the tent I am usually sleeping, reading, or lying quietly. None of those require much space and I am not inclined to bring much gear inside. I have used a variety of shelter options over the years ranging from fairly heavy to a 6 ounce bug bivy and 7 ounce tarp and I don't think I'd ever consider taking more than a lightweight backpacking tent (somewhere around 3 pounds would probably be my limit).
WRT to sleeping pads, your preferences may be different, but I have found my Thermarest xLite to be the most comfortable pad I have tried. Since it is also among the lightest I have tried it seems like an easy choice for me.
On the other hand while on tour I consider two main types of comfort... on the bike and off the bike. On the bike can actually be the bigger deal and I find it is facilitated by carrying a lighter load.
Again this is all personal preference, but after a lot of trial and error and a lot of tinkering with ever lighter loads I don't think I'd ever go back to schlepping heavy loads after experiencing the joy of touring on a bike very lightly loaded with ultralight back backing gear. And to be clear my reason isn't because it is some Spartan exercise it is for COMFORT on the bike.