I think every battery manufacturer has the best product if you believe the literature.
The best of the good old 2 volt Plante cells are tried and tested for nearly a century.
The only problem is that I am not so sure that modern cells are built the same way. Much of the modern use is not concerned with cells that you can be sure to last 20 years, they are much more concerned about self discharge, lack of maintenance and convenience of handling.
The biggest single snag with 2v cells is that you have lots of links to keep clean and corrosion free. Using multiples reduces this problem. Using VRLA instead of flooded cells mostly solves the corrosion problem but although they have advantages for certain types of use, I don't consider them to be worth the extra cost and the associated charging fussiness.
Ultimately I think that you will get what you pay for, the 2v cells or traction batteries will be very expensive and may not have the highest charge/ discharge efficiency but will last far longer.
Don't buy batteries intended for float duty, they are lots cheaper but most are not asked to do more than a few discharge cycles in their life ( if you ask they won't do it).
Despite the hype and claimed modern advances I don't see that batteries are any better than 40 years ago as far as life is concerned, they are better as regards self discharge and ease of maintenance, cleanliness and convenience and that seems to be what most users want especially the big users that dominate the market.
Flux