The others have answered most of your specific questions but having owned vfr 750 and 800 and covered 40,000+ miles on them before buying st4 then st4s with combined mileage of 23,000 miles here's a few comments.
RIDING & HANDLING Despite spending money on ohlins shocks and revalved forks on vfr's they still don't handle as well. or same fun factor of Duc. VFR is a bit clinical and souless.With ride height and suspension properly set up duc is way superior in terms of handling and ground clearance, including track day use.
COMFORT. i found standard duc seat narrow and hard, not as good as vfr. However bought a Sargant seat which is far better OK for 600 mile days now. Standard duc screen too low for me at 6ft 3. Honda seem to have this magic 1 size fits all.
RELIABILTY. Only probs with duc has been new clutch required at about 10,000 miles and warped discs, otherwise fine.
Honda, might be a bit bland but absolutely bulletproof, even if neglected. I know of 2 vfr's that have done 100,000 miles and 1 that saw far side of 200,000. miles. (Despatch riders)
MISC. Hondas detailing (mirrors,headlight) definately superior. Honda is also better in town traffic.
LUGGAGE. Dunno, i just lob a small bag on the seat. Travel light,credit card, toothbrush, and spare pair of shreddies will suffice for a trip round Europe.
CONCLUSION. for all i've said in favour of vfr's the duc is definately the winner if you prefer your sports tourer to have some real sporting emphasis.
PS fuel range is better than vfr in either sedate or thrash mode. All my mates laffed when i bought mine but never broken down on numerous foreign thrashes and uses less oil than mates R1/EXUP. Far better brakes than vfr's horrible linked dog pooh or earlier 2 piston front calipers.
You might just have to buy another seat to keep the missus happy, but its well worth it