Sounds like a similar issue as the Gen 1 Harley trucks. The drivers seat bottom usually wears pretty crappy, wrinkles up, cracks, etc. if not taken care of properly. When taken care of properly though, its a night and day difference. I've always used Zaino Z9 leather cleaner and Z10 leather conditioner. Out of many leather products, it's the best one I've used, and search on detailing forums, it's a highly rated product. Even if you don't use Zaino polish, it's worth ordering just their leather products.
Low gloss sheen, isn't slippery, isn't slimey, isn't shiny, doesn't smell funky, dries completely to the touch, and really helps the leather stay new looking. I'll try to dig up some pics of a 00 HD with 50k miles on the drivers seat and show you all the cracks and wear marks, then a pic of my 00 HD drivers seat with 50k miles on the clock that looks almost brand new.
Even on my second 00 HD that I bought with 898 miles on it in '09 and sold just this past October with 25k miles on it, the seats still looked brand spanking new.
Between not sliding off the edge of the seat, and using Zaino leather conditioner regularly, the leather stays in immaculate condition.
Just like your paint, you can gripe that Ford didn't use a quality paintjob if it swirls and chips and looks like crap but a lot of that is on your own fault for not washing, waxing, and taking care of your paint. No different than leather, you still need to take care of it.