The rubber on the tracks isnt for ride comfort. Its to protect the roads.  Bare metal tracks will tear the crap out of asphalt or concrete. The rubber cushions the track to road contact while still supplying a good grip on the road that the cleats on a metal track would have had.  They are also cheaper to manufacture than a solid metal track. There is also a mild weight savings. If the roads are icy some tanks can have track pads removed and replaced with a cleat. These  cleats are very obvious on modern german vehicles.

Right now the only way you can legally drive a steel tracked armored vehicle on the road is if there is NO other type of track for it. Bren carriers and german WW2 tanks have this problem. Most times though any surviving german vehicles arent driven to shows they are trailered and then driven around the show ground. A 250/251 series halftrack is perfectly street legal as it is.