Hey no problem, hope some of it helped.
I did read that the monkey nuts help with some tires not interfering with the fd. My bike was set up as a mtb with chunky knobby tires, so maybe that's why they were put on.
One attraction for me with 26ers is lower gearing slightly compared to bigger wheels, maybe stronger wheels due to shorter spokes (might be old wives tales) and finding 26 in tires easier in some developing countries in small shops.
All pluses to me for some of my trips