X-trans Raw converter comparison LR vs C1 vs Photo Ninja. Which one is the best?

Hello every one!

A few weeks back, Adobe released the 2015 edition of its CC softwares including the new Lightroom CC 2015. Lightroom has been notorious for not being able to correctly interpret the Fuji sensors, resulting in detail loss and watercolor effect. However, Adobe claims that they have addressed the issue and optimized their decoding algorithms on their recent releases.
I decided to put it to the test.

Methodology:

I took a high contrast raw picture of a tree from my balcony. I intentionally slightly overexposed by exposing to the right (ETTR) and going 2/3 of stop higher. The exif data is:

Camera: Fuji X-T1
Lens: Fujinon 18-55mm f/2.8-4
ISO: 200
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 18mm

I opened the .RAF file directly into Lightroom, Photo Ninja, and Capture One softwares. I didn't do any color corrections, global or local adjustments. All I did was changing the Highlights and Shadows slider to recover overexposed and underexposed areas. I did this twice, once all the way down, and once half way through. On the third trial, I didn't change the highlights or shadows, but I added same amount of sharpness (as far as I could see) to each image. Here are the details:

1st trial: Hilight recovery=%50, Shaddow recovery=%50
Lightoom: Highlights= -50, Shadows: +50
PhotoNinja: Highlights= -0.5, Shadows: +0.5
Capture One: Hilgights=50, Shadiws=50

2nd trial: Hilight recovery=%100, Shaddow recovery=%100
Lightoom: Highlights= -100, Shadows: +100
PhotoNinja: Highlights= -1, Shadows: +1
Capture One: Hilgights=100, Shadiws=100

3rd Trial: Sharpness Added
Lightoom: Amount=90, Radius=0.7, Details=10, Masking=0
Photoninja: Strength=110, Radius=0.7, Masking=0
Capture One: Amount=350, Radius=0.7, Threshold=0

Results:

In order to get a less bias, I'm going to set up a blind comparison. I'm going to present the pictures in 3 categories (A, B, and C) and reveal the results at the end. Here are the pictures:

No Adjustments:

A:

(A) No Adjustments

B:

(B) No Adjustments

C:

(C) No Adjustments

Fuji JPG:

Fuji JPG - Highlight Tone=0, Shadow Tone=0, Sharpness=0

1st trial: Hilight recovery=%50, Shaddow recovery=%50

A:

(A) 1st trial: Highlight recovery=%50, Shaddow recovery=%50

B:

(B) 1st trial: Highlight recovery=%50, Shadow recovery=%50

C:

(C) 1st trial: Highlight recovery=%50, Shadow recovery=%50

Fuji JPG:

Fuji JPG - Highlight Tone=+2, Shadow Tone=+2, Sharpness=0

2nd trial: Highlight recovery=%100, Shadow recovery=%100

A:

(A) Highlight recovery=%100, Shadow recovery=%100

B:

(B) Highlight recovery=%100, Shadow recovery=%100

C:

(C) Highlight recovery=%100, Shadow recovery=%100

Trials 3 - Details:

A:

(A)

B:

(B)

C:

(C)

Fuji JPG:

Fuji JPG

Answer Key:

(A) Photo Ninja 1.2.5

(B) Adobe Lightroom CC '15

(C) Capture One Pro 8.3.2

Conclusion:

I let you decide which software has delivers the best results. I tried to keep the test as objective as I can. However, I totally understand that each software performs differently, and each has its own, so to speak, sweat spot. And as a disclaimer, I'm not an expert in any of these softwares. Also, I'm aware of Iridient Software. But I'm working on a Windows machine, and I couldn't find a windows version of Iridient software. Therefore, I'm including a link to the actual .RAF file here, so if you can replicate the test yourself.
I personally think Lightroom has done a pretty good job. It handles Fuji's raw much better than it used to. Please share your thoughts, and leave a comment below.

RAW File:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxLurAG8gJ9oQVdkdm5HUy1jZjg

Chears,

Kasra