This is still an interesting topic although it can be a long conversation. I've had single speed bicycles with banana seats, a 24 inch wheel BMX bike, a cruiser, adult single speed bike, road bikes, hybrids and mountain bikes.
I used to think a compromise between a road bike and mountain bike would be to get a hybrid. Eventually I started thinking 700c wheels are a bit big for me (5'8-1/2" or 174cm tall). And the turning circle is larger. Now I'm leaning way more towards a mountain bike with 26 inch wheels and suspension forks. Although to me the jury is still out on suspension forks. My build project is not complete but I think I'll end up with a Rockshox. If I decided it's too bouncy and find even on lockout that it's impractical, I may end up getting a rigid fork. But that brings me back to a question I've been asking myself lately. Why don't companies bother anymore with mountain bike framesets made for rigid forks only? And if you find a rigid fork mountain bike, it's a $99 bike. When I think of the Kona Smoke model with the 26 inch wheels I can't believe I didn't get one. Unreal. The industry trends seem peculiar to me. Can you even find a comfort bike with a regular headset?