After riding a Bucksaw for a year, riding 2.35" on my Anthem feels like I am riding a road-bike on a skating rink. I'm way more confident now. But I've always been a chicken shit MTBer, so YMMV if you able to shred on thinner tires. For me fat has made all the difference.
I wanna put 2.5, but I've never tried one. But after tyring a 3.0 and kinda hating it I think a 2.5" 29er on a carbon 30mm inner rim would be the bomb for trail riding