Hey buddy, you can see in my thread how I fabbed up my b&m pro ratchet. I think it would have been comfortable with the bench even if I had not went with buckets. Maybe a slight but of leaning over to shift... But you could always make a custom extented shift arm to bring it up to a more comfortable height.
However I really like my bucket set up I fabbed up in the duster. The seats feel and look great. Shifter feels natural where I located it. Gave it more of a sporty feel.
Then again, maybe the wife wants to sit next to you while you cruise?.
It's a tough choice to debate on but I'm sure whatever choice you make it will look good!