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You'll need Wifi at least once no matter which ereader you get, at least of the major brand ereaders being sold today. The Kindle, Nook and Kobo all require that you register the device via Wifi. Actually I'm not sure if the Kindle requires that or not but you need to register it to get all the features. The Nook and the Kobo start up in the setup app and won't leave it till you've registered them. So with them it's required.
The good news is that you can go to Starbucks or MacDonalds or Hardees or the library or anyplace that has public Wifi to do this. After that you won't need Wifi again on any of those ereaders.
You're right about tablets though. In addition to not being nearly as good for reading as the e-ink readers they have to have Wifi regularly to stay useful. I've had problems with this when I've loaned tablets to friends who don't have Wifi. Within a week a few things stop working and sometimes a lot of things. Within two weeks a lot of things don't work. E-ink readers won't have this problem.
I currently have a Paperwhite and a Kobo Aura. I read with the Paperwhite because it's just a lot better screen and, for me, a more useful feature set. The Kobo Aura isn't bad but I have the Paperwhite and that spoils me.
If you get the $49 Kindle you'll have the same features as the Paperwhite but no light and the pixel density is lower, meaning rougher text and less contrast. I read on a comparable reader for several years and was perfectly happy with it but now that I've gotten used to the light I wouldn't like to go back.
The Kobo Aura does read mobi files and it reads them well enough but some of the features don't work with mobi files. Some features also don't work with epub files that didn't come from Kobo but more don't work with mobi files. I've seen some discussions about ways around this when converting but I haven't tried them. I use my Kobo for lending books to my neighbors and it works well enough and they're all happy so I don't worry about it.
Barry
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