Will any tire of a given width feel "hard" at it's highest recommended pressure? I've always pumped up my tires to the highest listed pressure (usually 80) where they were extremely hard and offered little rolling resistance.

If I get a 700 x 45c tire and pump it up to it's highest recommended pressure, will it be hard like my 700 x 35 at it's highest pressure or will the wider tire feel "mushy"?

Can a fatter tire be both hard and more comfortable or is a comfortable tire necessarily a softer tire?

I'm now middle-aged, overweight and have some orthopedic issues so I'm interested in the more comfortable ride I've read that fatter tires give but I also absolutely cannot stand tires with a lot of rolling resistance. In the past, anything less than max pressure feels like a flat tire to me. I'm considering Marathon Supremes or even Big Apples but I don't want to shell out big bucks only to find that even at the highest pressure the tires have a mushy ride that I hate.