"advice he gave me was so not purchase a seat till you sit in it"
^This, so very true. When I sat in a Pole Position I was pretty sold on comfort, size and fitment for me. But, I am also under 6ft so it was no problem, my shoulders are too wide for nearly all Bride buckets but they were fine in the Recaros.
Nice to hear the B5's have solid grip, they look the total opposite lol. Definitely have that next level look, support to go with it makes it sound like another solid option if you can find one to sit in.
I found with a lot of buckets in other FD's and my own that when we find a good seat fitment for the body type, the bolster edges almost always touch or directly impact the door panel. Taking off the cover to shave that edge down would be worth it I think if you find a nice seat but it is a touch too wide due to the heavy curve of the FD door panel. While those flat panel door covers will give you an extra 1-2" of clearance...they take away from the styling of the car for me and I run only a half interior. You will be keeping your door panels I'm assuming?
