Well put. In that case, I would go with a deluxe 3-man tent which means it's decently sized for 2, yet still packable. The REI-branded tents are a really good value. I recently compared the REI, Big Agnes, Nemo, and Marmot 3-man tents at the local REI store. I set up, inspected, and broke down each one.

I went with the Marmot LimeLight 3. I feel it is well designed and constructed. It includes a custom footprint which can be set up with the fly and poles alone if desired. Major material selections (floor, zippers, fly, etc) were about 1 notch heavier duty than the other brands. This made it ideal for car camping. This is not a dig on the other tents, they have to make those compromises to shave 1 or 2 pounds, which is a big deal when on foot.