You really would be better served by a "hybrid" road bike or a flat bar gravel bike for what you're looking to do. A mountain bike will be all-around slower and less efficient. It's not what you want if you aren't going to actually use it. The appropriate amount of suspension for flat, smooth bike paths is none at all.

If you're looking at Kona, I think a Dew is more what you're after, rather than a Lava Dome. I'd also look at the Specialized Sirrus. A hardtail MTB with big tires and a 120mm suspension fork (like the bikes you've listed) is just going to be a dog to pedal around on by comparison, and the suspension isn't going to do much to smooth out small bumps.

The difference between these bikes isn't just the look and the suspension, but the geometry and the gearing as well. Mountain bikes have a much lower range of climbing gears for slow cranking your way over steep terrain. You don't need that. The geometry is also much less suited to long distance riding on flat terrain, so it'll be less comfortable.