23mm is the fastest, even on modern wide wheels.
Lighter, more aero, handle crosswinds better than fatter tires.
Any minimal rolling resistance loss is more than made up by other factors.

For comfort, no doubt 25 and 28s are better and maybe 25's are a good tradeoff for most.
But anything bigger than 23 is a compromise if you are concerned about absolute speed.

You also have to determine how tests are listing the tires. By label or actual width.