Hi Smaug,
i went to a couple LBS and rode a few bikes. The guys at the bike store talked me out of the electric MTB, said i should get a regular MTB because then i would not worry about mtb trails with restrictions for electric bikes.
then i realized my primary motivation was commuting, and i rode a pretty peppy e-commuter and liked it. I dont really do any mountain biking currently.
i got an Aventon Level 2 (hub motor) and now im doing basically 100% of my work commutes on the e bike, and have a pannier for my stuff. Pretty happy with the decision, much more fun than commuting in a car.
i like that i can cruise at 20mph with low effort and get to the office without getting sweaty.
time will tell on reliability but no complaints so far.
Any tips on maintenance? Anything more complicated i should worry about than keep the chain lubed and tires inflated? Thanks.
Thanks everyone for the valuable input. I probably could have looked at more commuter ebike options but i went with what the LBS had available.