I've been riding 700x38 Nimbus (Specialized) tires on a Specialized Globe 6 and have been very happy with the comfort, speed and their ability to handle rough streets. The tread has good water channeling.

Recently I rode my mountain bike to work a few days while the commuter was in the shop.... 26"x2.1" knobbies with full suspension... ugh!. Before my current commuter, I rode 27"x1.5" (old Schwinn) The smooth thin tires were just not good for the rough streets, water grates, pavement shifts and I ended up on my side one night when I hit an angled, wet-greasy spot. Bike just slid out from under me. Got a bit banged up from that... lost confidence in the bike and especially those tires.

Just a warning from experience...