No, Nick, I don't think you go out of your way to design uncomfortable seats. I don't think you go out of your way at all to design seats, one way or the other, other than to try to make them as light as possible, to maximize the payload you can advertise. I have never, ever, not one time, heard a pilot say anything good about any helicopter seat. Never. And I've been around a lot of helicopter pilots for a long time. You might believe that no two pilots ever have the same opinion, but I beg to differ. Every pilot I've ever talked to has been of the opinion that helicopter seats are terrible.
Trying to defend the indefensible seldom makes you look good.