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Tires are a bit of a trade off. Here is something to think about as you decide what you need based on where you ride. A mountain bike can be function in many ways. The harder the narrower the tire, as a general rule the easier it rolls. High pressure and the skinny tire help the wheel roll faster and with far less effort than a fat lower pressure tire. Fatter tires usually can not take the 110psi that a road tire can tolerate. On pavement they roll very easily and give the rider the most speed for the least effort.
Off road its a different story. That skinny high pressure tire sinks in the dirt, gravel and just bogs down. In any kind of loose gravel, its not going to work not very well. Any kind of dirt or any thing that isn't rock solid, a wider tire is better. The bigger contact patch makes for a better transfer the power to the ground. That wider tire doesn't bog down into the ground as easily, just like a wider snow shoe doesn't let you fall through the top of high snow. Weight is spread over a larger area keeping the bike up where it can roll easier. These also don't run as high of an air pressure, say about 60 psi or so. Not inflated as much they tend to flex a bit more which helps provide some cushioning on the ride and better grip to something that isn't pavement.
Knobby tires help grab the ground more, just like off road cars, jeeps and trucks have knobby tires. They grip better, but there is a trade off there too. On regular road they are noisy.
IF you use 26 inch wheels, you have a number of options. Not as familiar with 29ers but most of the people I know like their downhill performance. Getting the extra mass going probably takes a bit more effort, but the added mass of a spinning disk (wheels function like gyroscopes) has a few advantages as well. With 26 inch wheels, you have a bonus. Almost every bike store will have a fairly large selection of tires for specific needs.
My recommendation (and Hack and anyone else chime in with suggestions) if you are going to ride trails, I'd find a tire that was somewhere are 2 to 2.25 inches. If its all off road, go ahead and get the knobbies. though there are some tires about that size meant for cruise type bikes that are not knobby. They make for a good ride on a cruiser, but not ideal for a mountain bike. Check the max pressure, and if two tires are equal in all other respects the one that would tolerate the higher pressure gives you options. Id probably start riding at some where around 60psi or so and adjust up or down without exceeding the max approved pressure.
When you buy these, there is one more thing to think about. A second set of tires and tubes that are geared more to road riding might be in order. If you pick up a set of tires that can take 100psi and tubes to fit, if you get ready for a few days of riding on the roads, a quick change of tires and tubes gives you a much more road friendly bike in less than an hour and as you get faster maybe less than 30 minutes. Makes a big difference in speed and ease of pedaling. Anything from 1 to 1.5 should do you fine. Slick or treads don't matter. If it rains, its not like a car. It will be slick on either tire, but bikes are of a nature that its impossible to hydroplane like you can on a car. Last ones I think I ran on my MTB were 1.25 or 1.5, but just get the narrowest ones you can find in your budget that will take the highest pressure. If force to choose, go with higher pressure more than width.
You don't mention how old the bike is so I will throw this out. A few older bikes, most I think were Schwinn's but I don't really remember for sure, used tires sizes that were expressed in fractions. When you see one of these "fractional tires" on the sidewall you will see 2 1/4 or 1 1/2 or what ever size that particular tire happens to be. There is a hidden little catch. You would expect 2 1/4 inch tire, to be the same as a tire with 2.25 on the side wall. You would be mistaken. They are two different tire sizes and they will not interchange. Not likely to be an issue, but if you have a bike that needs the fractional tires, expect to have to order them.
All in all the 26 inch will take many tires and give you many options. Catch a sale and a set of tires for a different type of riding can be inexpensive and can sit in a corner till you get ready to do that kind of riding. Then just change tires and you are set.
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