That a good idea in theory but in practice you don't get lower gears on a triple. Your lowest gear on a triple is 22 front 36 rear. On a triple you can't use a cassette bigger than 36. That's the same lowest gear as in a double. On a 1x, my lowest gear is 34 front 52 rear, which is not quite as low as the others, but very close.
yes, with 26" wheels and 1.90 tires, that's
15.75" vs.16.75". good in theory and great in practice, especially when climbing heavily loaded up a long, steep hill, which could make the difference between slogging up at 55 rpm for four hours, or pushing for six.
i'm not sure about not using cassettes bigger than 36. i'm pretty sure, tho not certain, there are doodads out there that allow for use of 40T or 44T cogs. 40T cog paired with a 22T would give you 14", at which point most folks will tend to fall over.
you've also got the option of getting a 20T front, giving you sub 15" with a 36T. not sure how complicated to adapt your reg'lar crank, or whether it requires a specific make/model.
Don't forget with a 1x drivetrain you have 12 speeds so the spacing is not too bad.
and with the 3x you have 27 speeds, although a couple may be unusium, or potentially duplicatium. irregardless, you should be able to get at least 20 workable gears, potentially 25 out of a 3x, for much closer spacing. i dunno about you, but closer spacing and more gear choice is ueber important for me. spinning up a hill, and having the right gearing running into the wind is important. coasting downhill is a feature, not a bug.