How can the superiority of Prophet Muhammad's heart over all other human hearts be reconciled with the superiority of his noble Companions over the rest of the prophets and messengers?

The aforementioned Hadith is not a saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, but rather it is an 'Mawquf' narration attributed to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, and its meaning is that "what the Muslims deem good, is good in the sight of Allah; and what the Muslims deem evil, is evil in the sight of Allah." It is also narrated in other reports that it was said: "Indeed, Allah looked into the hearts of His servants and chose Muhammad - peace and blessings be upon him - then He looked into the hearts of His servants and chose companions for him." This is meant to signify the superiority of the Companions over all other people during their time, and not their superiority over the Prophets and Messengers. The predecessors of the Ummah have agreed that the Prophets are superior to the Awliya (saints), and that the best of the Ummah after its Prophet are Abu Bakr and Umar.