Tires: winter tire sizes, jeep grand cherokee, winter tires

Question
 I have a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.2 and want to outfit it with winter tires, but not sure what size tire I should go with. I'm currently running with a P235/75R15 all season LT tire. I've heard that the rule of thumb when going to a winter tire is the narrower and taller the better. On the other hand, I've also heard that you should put the biggest (widest) tire you can get because of (A) A larger contact area on the road and (B) Better fuel economy due to a lower gear ratio. I'm interested in the Michelin Latitude X-Ice tires for my truck. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,  Don   P.S.  Could I use a 16" rim or should I stay with the 15" ?

Answer
Don,

Going narrower and taller is generally a good idea for winter tires.

But you can't do that as you are as tall as available.

I would advise getting a complete set of tires and rims - that makes the changeover easy.  Use the 15" - there is no advantage to going to a 16"