I think the reference to Ford from Brave New World seems the most compelling to me, because he's literally the god of that book, and there are so many other echoes of that novel throughout the show (and another Huxley novel, The Doors of Perception)...

I also wrote a post suggesting it's possible that his name *might* have been influenced by Robert Fludd. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fludd. If you scroll down a bit on that page, you'll see a familiar-looking image...

Still, I like the connection to Robert Ford, and even to John Ford. I have a feeling they chose the name in part because of how many different connections people could draw... Robert Ford's backstory (and future) is still a mystery, and I think they're pretty careful about not showing their cards too quickly.