I'm not very knowledgeable regarding the ins and outs of reversal processing, but just wanted to make the point that in negative development, buffering is more complex than just storage longevity.

Generally speaking, poor/weak buffering is a characteristic which can contribute to "compensating" or lower contrast development because as acidic development by-products build up in areas where lots of development is taking place, the local pH on the surface and/or within the emulsion can drop, leading to lower activity.