To me it seems like it is all dependent on pressure (if housings suck, just need strong hands!), and friction coefficient of wheel/pad. This is assuming your brake levers don't touch the bars when you squeeze them.

On my World Sport, the front brakes suck because the levers touch the bars. Once I get the wheel straightened out better I can tighten up the cable and hopefully it won't touch anymore and it should work fine. This is with dry rotted tires and old pads.

I don't think the tire width has a huge impact unless your front tire is locking up on you before the rear wheel lifts off the ground. My bike with 23c tires stops a lot faster than my bike with 32s...