How to recognize a bad tire?
There are many factors that go into determining the performance of a tyre.  The material and thread count (TPI) of the carcass, the rubber compound, thickness and tread pattern.  Tubed vs tubeless, and many different varieties of puncture protection layers.

Unfortunately as a consumer (especially with lesser known brands) its virtually impossible to be sure of the exactly how the tyre will perform without trying it.  This is why bike forums are always full to the brim of threads about x/y/z tyres.

The average life of a tyre varies significantly, based both on the tyre construction, the weight and riding style of the rider, and the terrain being ridden.
A light rider riding tyre 'X' on flat smooth roads may get 4500km out of a tyre, but give the same tyre to a heavy rider in hilly terrain and a coarse surface and it may only last 1500km.

If you are looking at a tyre purely as a consumable item, and only care about how many km you can get out of them, then you probably want to look for tyres that are advertised as 'touring' tyres.  They typically have thicker rubber and a harder compound for durability, along with thick puncture protection layers which whilst designed to provide reliability in remote areas, also work superbly in urban environments