I've been agonizing over a solution to this for months. And agonizing whether or not to post some tough questions.

Let's take a look at what has happened over the years. DAZ and Poser content used to work in both platforms (ie: the V4 generation of figures).  It used to be a LOT easier to create Poser and DAZ Studio content than it is today. The disconnect started when weight mapping and rigging changed the ball game for both.

But also, over the years, stores started upping the criteria for submitting content. The clothing had to work well in all (or most) poses and body shapes. That means having to test each joint rotation and each full body morph to make sure that there are as few pokethroughs as possible. That takes time. A LOT of time. But then we are in tough economic times. So while people demand higher quality, they also demand lower prices. The two needs fight each other, unfortunately.  And to that, there IS no easy solution. 

As far as what makes the Genesis figures "better" ... that's a good question.  But here are some of my feelings on it (your mileage may vary).  And I'm not saying this to complain, but to bring forth a conversation that might work toward solutions.  Y'all know I used to be on the Poser team and I care about Poser. I want to see it succeed.  But I'm now in my 70s and my old tired brain doesn't work as well as it used to. So I retired.

Start with a GENERIC, not a STYLIZED base. It's easier to morph character individuality IN than it is to take stylized detail OUT.  Think of Sydney from Poser 7. It was hard to un-Sydney Sydney. She always had an unmistakeable look. (She actually reminded me a lot of J-Lo LOL)/ The more stylized a character is, the harder it is to work with.

Geometry and edge flow is probably the second most important thing, IMO.  You can't create good character morphs if the geometry won't support it. 

As far as materials go, I think SuperFly is entirely capable of creating good skin shaders.  So maybe it's the promos that aren't up to par. I really don't know. I would think lighting and render settings have a lot to do with promo quality.  

Again, I want to stress this isn't to complain.  I think we need to group together to see if there might be some sort of solution that would help relieve some of the stagnation. A figure can only have so much skimpwear. LOL