A friend of mine is looking at getting into cycling. I have a hand me down bike that really doesn't fit me, but I kind of want a new bike to join him. I'm 6'6", and live on and ride gravel roads from time to time, but I suspect my buddy will want to ride paved trails mostly. Mountain biking looks like a ton of fun though, so I'd kinda like to lean that way. I suspect it's easier to ride a mountain bike on asphalt than a road bike on gravel?

I did some searching, but everything I found was really generic ai looking articles, so here I am, asking for recommendations.

Also, when riding the hand me down bike, my dick goes numb. Wtf is that, and how do I stop that?

Get a gravel bike. Most versatile bike there is. They even make some pretty cool drop bar mountain bike tired gravel bikes, like the Salsa Cutthroat for example.

I'd look at those and maybe the Specialized Diverge, to start.

Get properly fitted and get a comfy saddle. The numb plumbing is usually from an I'll fitting saddle.

I'd consider a mountain bike.  A gravel bike may be perfect for riding gravel, but if you aren't a cyclist, sometimes, the flat bar mountain bike position is easier to navigate on loose gravel.

I've done 6 day, 450 mile road bike tours on a full suspension mountain bike with slick tires.  Not ideal, for sure, but it's all I had, and it's fine.

If you are comfortable on drop bar (road bike bars), then for sure.... That Salsa or any gravel bike are really cool these days.  I run 40mm tires on my gravel bike, and it's a great do-it-all bike.  Even mild mountain bike trails.

Looks for bikes that offer an XXL frame that will fit you.

An Ergon saddle will deal with the numbness issue.

True road bikes are very much one-trick ponies.  Full suspension mountain bikes are the same.  Gravel bikes and hard-tails are more versatile for most types of riding, although I lean toward hardtails.  A big benefit of hardtails is that modern geometry is very stretched out on the front-end, which makes it easier for tall people to have a comfortable position.  

I'm 5'11" but need a bike with a longer front-end, to be comfortable.  I went with the XL Trek Roscoe, even though the largest they recommend for me is the Large.  The tires are overkill and I plan to put some smaller, more speed friendly tires on, when these wear out.  This bike has seen about 99% pavement riding and I love it.  When I get on my other (very nice) non-suspension bike, the ruts and other deformities in our pathetic city streets beat the shit out of me.  Suspension for the win, for this old, arthritic fart.

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I'm 6'4" and fit comfortably on my Polygon Siskiu T8 from bikesonline.com.
Great bike and I've kept it stock and ridden it hard.