You usually have paved/concrete though correct? I know you've owned many lifts, but maybe not used many in dirt and gravel right?
Cushion tire lift works on packed gravel, dirt, grass, whatever, until a point where it goes down hill quick. Usually easier to get stuck when NOT carrying a load as the counterweight steer tires sink in.
I believe it's a big gray area and pneumatic tires generally deserve a premium as they are more versatile. Pneumatic tire really has a significant advantage in less than ideal surfaces. I find that when I start getting on the verge of getting stuck in soft gravel or mucky dirt/grass I can tell and with careful driving I can get out of it. Last winter I had a pair of 60 foot long 8" x 40" glulam beams in my field behind my shop. My excavator wouldn't lift them so I figured I'd give my Komatsu a try and I made it out there with foot to the floor, but figured I'd need to use the excavator to pull it back out. Nope. Lifted both beams and was able to back out of the muddy field with a few tons on the forks.
I have had cushion tire lifts with smooth tread and some with luggy tread tires. When I advertised the luggy tread ones I always put "aggressive tread cushion tires" in the ads. Not sure it made any difference in the sale though.