FWIW -- fit is everything; you mentioned that you felt good on the RH, but quickly began to have problems on the CT: don't lose that thought - that experience is telling you something. Yes, you can/could probably 'adjust' the front end on the CT to get it right, though have to say they do have a weird-looking geometry (glancing at Spec's website).
That's point one; 2: again, based on your post, sounds like a) you're not a light rider, and b) you do like to bash around a little (a good thing, in my view!), and c) you might get off-road occassionally. The 26" wheels on the RH are, all else being equal, going to be tougher.
3. Road speed: neither bike is a road bike; the difference in speed you felt on your test rides is almost certainly due to having knobbies on the RH, and smooth-center (hybrid) tires on the CT, NOT the difference in wheel size in/of itself. Throw a set of semi-slick or slick road tires on the RH (lots of these available), and most (arguably all) of that apparent difference will be gone.
My advice, given what you want to do with the bike, is to go with the RH, hands down.