I don't want to get in on the 'Best Tire' fray, but some of the features you might look for in new tires could include:
Rim Protecting Bead (recessed bead): That tends to make the tires appear a little more square-shouldered and 'wider' ...which is something you mentioned. And of course it helps protect your rims from curb rash. A lot of tires don't have it, and IDK that I'd make it a 'Must-Have' because it can eliminate a lot of tires. Some which do include Pirelli Scorpions, Hankook's, Geolanders ..there's a bunch. But a lot of very good tires don't. Just something to be aware of.
Tread blocks which go to the carcass: Some tires have connecting rubber between tread blocks. Looks good when new, but they become, or look semi-bald when they are down to about 1/3 of their tread. Therefore a guy might not get the full value of them if you need to replace prematurely. OTOH, it's a balance with sound/harmonics too. And some tires have minimal connection rubber ribs (I'm not talking about wear bars). Just something to be aware of.
Load Range: Pay attention to the load range. Tires which are load range E, or a high load index number ...generally get worse fuel economy and ride stiffer. But they can also handle more weight too ...so you have to balance your needs -- which you know better than anyone.
Noise: Larger tires tend to become noisier. It all depends on the tread block design too. But when the tread blocks slap the pavement more parallel, it tends to create more noise. Noise is friction and usually translates into worse fuel economy. Obviously mfgrs try to engineer-out noise, but there's only so much they can do on larger tires. Larger tires are also going to be 'harder' on your tk's front wheel bearings. You are in Tx, so you may need a tire better in rain than snow (duh!!? lol).
Balance: Don't overlook the importance of a quality balance job. Make sure the installing outfit has competetent people and good equipment. Stand there the whole time and keep your eagle-eye on the techs. Preferrably a Hunter Road Force balancer ...as it gives a final balance score. Some places you have to request Road Force balancing ...and sometimes its more expensive as it takes more work to perform rim-matching. But you get the best job. Ask them to write down what the score was and put on a piece of tape on each rim. So you know when you're finished what the amount of balance was, and how it balanced out (it's final balance score). Then you won't have any surprises when you drive away. A tire that has a real high balance score could be slightly out-of-round, and you might ask for a replacement if one was obscenely high.
Good luck in your search. There's a bazillion good product out there. And lots of "What Tires??" or "Best tires" forum posts (do a search). Maybe some of the other comments or member's wisdom from past threads will offer good thoughts to ponder.
