Which Type of Bike Would You Select If You Needed To Commute, Ride Fire Roads, and Regular Roads With 1 Bike?
&quot;a decent chunk of money on one bike&quot;   this is a very slippery slope.
If this is your first bike, look for a used hardtail MTB for relatively low cost, and simply store any leftover money.  You'll want to buy accessories over time like helmet, tools and lights and so on.
Ideally the fork would have a working &quot;lockout&quot; lever, to disable the bounce while on-road.
Something with unfashionable 26&quot; wheels might be perfect, when combined with a new pair of slick 26&quot; road tyres.

Once you get 6-12 months of riding in, (and the associated fitness improvements!) then you'll have a better idea of what you want.  At that point you can spend the remaining money on a more targetted bike, whether that be for road, or a full-squish MTB for whatever you find most appealing.
Upshot, you're a beginner, and could go either way.  Don't commit all your money to something you might not like.